Moment of Weakness
by The Hurricane 13
Summary: After a bad experience on a date, Maddie has a moment of weakness. She takes advantage of Zack and instantly regrets it. Co-written by Cetrix and Tiger002. Winner of the "Best Emotional Breakdown" award in the 2009 Suite Life Awards!
1. Moment of Weakness

_**Chapter 1: Moment of Weakness **_

**Maddie's POV-**

_I can't believe what I just did. What was I thinking? I may have just made the single biggest mistake of my life. How could this have happened? I must have caved in my moment of weakness..._

* * *

**Earlier that evening...**

I had just gotten off from my shift at the Tipton. Mr. Moseby let me off early because I had a date with with a friend, Adam. After clocking out, I went upstairs to suite 2330 to change clothes. Carey was in the lounge doing her show and had given me her room key so I could change. She said Zack and Cody were at the movies with a friend and wouldn't be back until later so I wouldn't be bothered.

I stepped off of the elevator on the 23rd floor and made my way down the hall. I opened the door to the suite and went inside, closing and locking the door behind me. Normally, I'd change in the bathroom, but there wasn't anyone here tonight and I was in a hurry. Adam would be waiting for me downstairs in a few minutes, so I decided to just change quickly in the living room and be on my way. I took off my shoes and socks first followed by my pants, shirt and tie. After I had successfully removed my Tipton uniform, I started digging around in my bag for my change of clothes. I found the underwear I was going to change into and removed the bra and panties I had on.

I guess while I was getting the rest of the way undressed, I didn't notice the sound of the doorknob being jiggled. As soon as I took off my underwear and was standing there with nothing on, the door came open. In my shock, I screamed as I turned to see who it was, not realizing I was naked. The other person in the room seemed to be just as shocked. I grabbed something to cover myself with as soon as I realized what was happening, but it was already too late. Zack had already caught a good look at me fully nude.

"Oh, no! Sorry, Maddie! I- I didn't know you were here!" he exclaimed while quickly trying to cover his eyes. Before I could say anything in return, he turned and quickly left the room, shutting the door behind him.

"Why was he here?" I thought to myself. "I can't believe Zack just saw me naked."

Over the years, Zack and his twin brother, Cody have become like little brothers to me. I care a lot about both of them and would do anything for them. Zack has always had a not-so-secret crush on me. I think it has kind of faded a bit over time as he finally got the hint that I wasn't interested in him in that way, but he still tries to hit on me occasionally. Now this. Now Zack, at sixteen-years-old (which is three years younger than me, by the way) is the first guy to see me naked. This is going to be very awkward for both of us. I'll have to find him as soon as I get back from my dinner with Adam and have a talk with him.

I try to get over my embarrassment and get dressed as quick as possible. I rush downstairs and find Adam already waiting for me in the lobby. I didn't see Zack anywhere on my way down, which is a relief. As much as I need to talk to him, now is not the time. I need time to think and clear my head. I also need to get through my dinner with Adam.

* * *

**A couple of hours later...**

Dinner was fun. Adam took me to a nice restaurant called The Capital Grille. I'm sure it was very expensive, but it was also very good. The best steak I've ever had in my life! Afterwards, we drove around for a little while and had a nice talk.

Adam and I met a few weeks ago when his family was staying at the Tipton. He's come by and visited me a couple of times, but this is our first time to go out on a date. He seems ok, but I get a feeling like he might be a little too arrogant. He also comes on a little strong. He tried to kiss me when we first got in the car and I told him to wait and see how dinner goes first. Then, at dinner he made a few suggestive comments. I tried to laugh them off, but they kind of bothered me all night.

After our little drive I asked him to take me back to the Tipton. I needed to pick up my uniform and also try to find Zack so I could talk to him. I didn't want to put it off. Adam agreed to take me back, but as we arrived, instead of parking in front of one of the entrances, he pulled into the side alley that runs around to the back of the hotel where there's a loading dock for delivering supplies to the kitchen staff.

"What are you doing?" I ask concerned.

"Well, you promised me a kiss after dinner," he says with a smirk on his face.

"I said we MIGHT and even IF we do, we could have done that in front of the building," I correct him.

"Oh, so you don't want to kiss me?" he says in a sort of smarmy way. I think about it for a minute. Dinner was good and I enjoyed our talk, even if he was a little obnoxious at times. Besides, he is VERY good looking. I decide to go ahead with it. After all, what would be the harm?

"That's not what I said," I say as I lean forward toward him. He puts his hand on the back of my head as he leans in and starts to kiss me. At first it's soft and gentle, but after a few seconds he starts to put his tongue in my mouth. I accept it at first, but then he starts to get more aggressive with it. He moves his left hand to my stomach and slips it up under my shirt. I try to pull away, but he still has his hand on my head holding me in place. I reach up and try to pull his hand away, but he lets go of my head and grabs my hand and pulls it away. His left hand makes it up to my breast and he starts rubbing it. Finally, I'm able to break free of his grip and get his hands off of me. "What the hell is wrong with you?" I yell.

"What's the matter, baby? You know you want it," he smirks, "You DO want it, don't you?"

"No, I do NOT want it, you pig," I say disgusted.

"If you get out of this car right now, we're through," he says as I start to get out. I can't believe what he just tried to do to me, and those words infuriate me. I slap him hard across the face and get out of the car, slamming the door behind me. I run into the hotel, past all the staff and guests in into the elevator. I was going to go up to Carey's suite and talk to her about what happened, but I remember what happened earlier with Zack and instead, my hand reaches up and presses the button to go to the basement.

When the door opens I decide to go into Arwin's office where I can be alone. I go down the dimly lit hallway, and find the office door unlocked. I open the door and go inside. For some reason the light is already on, but I disregard it as I shut and lock the door behind me. I sit down in a chair and lay my head down on the small table in front of it and start to cry. I wonder if there is something wrong with me. I always seem to mess things up. Every time I have a great guy, I ruin things. I feel stupid because I know exactly what the problem is. It's because people see me as a goody-goody. Someone who isn't willing to take risks and is certainly not willing to become sexually involved. I know guys don't like that. Guys are looking to score and if you want anyone to notice you, you have to be willing to do it...

"Maddie, what are you doing in here?" I jump as I hear the familiar voice behind me. "What's wrong?"

I turn around and, sure enough, I find Zack standing behind me. "Oh, great," I think to myself, "the last person I needed to run into."

"Nothing, I'm fine," I lie, trying to wipe the tears from my eyes. "What are you doing down here at this hour?"

"I came down here looking for some batteries for my game," he says, showing me the batteries he's found. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?" I've obviously done a crappy job of hiding it from him so I go ahead and tell him the story including my feelings on why I can't keep a guy. I'm not really sure why, but I felt better than I thought I would after telling him. Maybe I just needed someone to talk to and he was conveniently there. I'm not sure. "Maddie, you shouldn't worry about things like that. You're a much better person than most girls and it's nice that you won't give in to that kind of pressure," he tries his best to assure me.

Zack has never been known for his sensitive side, but he has, on occasion shown himself to be very sweet. He moves over and puts his arms around me to comfort me. He makes me feel better, even though I don't believe what he said. I don't feel like a better person. I feel like crap. I know what guys want and, to this point, I'm haven't been willing to give it to them. I sit and watch all my friends, as happy as they can be with their boyfriends. They're willing to do it. Why can't I? What's wrong with me?

We sit silently for a few moments while I think about things. Zack keeps holding me and rubbing my back, still trying to comfort me. I finally look up and see him look back at me. I study his face. His beautiful blue eyes. His soft lips. He's very cute for a boy his age. His blonde hair. A crazy thought goes through my head and I try to dismiss it. I can't, however, ignore the funny feeling I start to get all over my body.

"Zack," I whisper, "did you know you're the only guy who's ever seen me naked?"

"Oh... um... about that. Maddie I'm sorry about that," he says nervously, letting go for a second. "I really had no idea..." Suddenly, I feel a rush of adrenaline. I lose control of myself for a moment and turn in and kiss Zack on the lips cutting him off mid-sentence. This catches him off guard and he starts to pull away, but I hold him there and begin kissing him more. I slip my tongue into his mouth and he finally stops resisting. Slowly, I move my hands across his chest and neck as we deepen our kiss. I know Zack has always dreamed of this and the surprise of it has made him completely vulnerable. I start to kick off my shoes as I take his hand and move it up over my breast. I rub myself with his hand and he takes the hint and moves the other hand to my other breast on his own. As he's rubbing my chest, I start unbuttoning my shirt and take it off. I drop it to the floor and then start pulling his shirt off. He lets go of my breasts and raises his arms up. We break our kiss just long enough for me to take his shirt the rest of the way off and the we go back at it. Next, I slip my panties off, down my legs, over my socks and into the floor. I'm wearing a miniskirt and I make the decision to save some time and leave it on since it won't get in the way. I reach behind me and unsnap my bra and it, too drops to the floor. I take Zack's hands and place them back on my breasts and start rubbing them again. This time, he catches on right away and takes over for himself. While he's busy doing that, I rub my hands down his chest and stomach to his crotch area. I can fell the bulge through his pants and it gets me even more excited. I unbutton and unzip his pants and break our kiss to slide them down his legs. As I go down to take them off, I kiss him all the way down his chest and stomach. He raises his legs one at a time as I pull his pants the rest of the way off. I stand back up and start kissing him again more passionately than before. He starts rubbing my breasts again as I slowly stroke his chest. Then, I slide my hands gently down and slip them into his boxers. I stroke the peach fuzz around his privates and then move my hand over his penis. As I begin to stroke it, he suddenly stops kissing me and takes a step back, seemingly startled.

"Maddie, wait," he says nervously, "this isn't right. We can't..."

"Zack, I want this. Trust me. This is what I want," I say interrupting him. I pull him in and start kissing him again. At first, he was resistant to it again, but I gently push him back up against the table behind him. I sits himself up on the table and I lean in even more and lay him down. I climb up onto the table and straddle over him. I lower myself to kiss him again and while I do, I take his hand and rub it from my breast all the way down to my crotch. I stroke my moist private area with his hand. Suddenly, he pulls away again.

"Maddie, wait," he tries to say again, but I don't let him finish. I start kissing him again, passionately moving my tongue around in his mouth. I move my hands up his legs and into his boxers again. I begin stroking him again with one hand and, as I do, I unbutton the trap on the front of his boxers with my other hand. I take his penis out through the hole in his shorts and stroke it with both hands. While still kissing him (mostly so he can't say anything) I raise myself up above him. I slowly lower myself down onto his swollen penis and gently put it inside me. He lets out a soft moan and any resistance there may have been left in him goes away. I lower myself the rest of the way down onto him. At first it hurts, as this is my first time. I'd always heard things about Zack, but from what I can tell, this is his first time also. He pushes himself into me as much as he can and it starts to feel better. It still hurts, just not as much. Then, slowly I start moving myself up and down. I'm very nervous and the whole thing is kind of awkward, but I don't stop and I continue kissing him. He moans quietly the whole time and eventually, they start getting louder as I can tell he is getting close to climaxing. As he does, the kiss is the hardest it's been and he pushes himself into me one last time. After a few seconds, he breaks the kiss and relaxes a little. I continue moving up and down on him a little longer until I realize that he's finished. I lean over and kiss him one last time before climbing down off of the table. He fixes himself back into is boxers and sits up. I start to get dressed and he climbs down and begins to do the same.

Getting dressed was done entirely in awkward silence as I slowly begin to realize what I've just done. Zack pulls on the last bit of clothing, his shirt, and stands waiting while I finish. As soon as I'm finished, I turn to him trying to think of what to say. I can't find any words and before I can, he speaks first.

"Maddie, I love you. I've always loved you," he says. His words hit me like a ton of bricks and the full consequences of what have just happen come into my head. I've just had sex with a sixteen-year-old boy who wasn't ready and now he's telling me he loves me because he probably thinks I love him, too. I start to feel sick as Zack moves in for another kiss. I put my arm out and push him back. "Maddie, what's wrong," he says, a look of embarrassment coming over him. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, Zack," I finally manage to say, "you didn't. I am the one who has done something wrong here. This was wrong. I shouldn't have done this and I'm sorry." I now have a rush of emotions running over me. Fear, embarrassment, anger (at myself), sorrow, panic, and grief. I can NOT believe what I have just done and now I have to tell Zack that it meant nothing and that I wish it hadn't happened. That we can't be together like he wants. Rather than face him and tell him the truth, I panic. I look at him as tears start to well in my eyes. "I am so sorry," I say and I turn and run. I run back down the hall to the elevator. Once in the elevator I go up one floor to the lobby and run out the door. I run down the block a ways to make sure Zack can't catch up and hail a cab. I jump in and when I get back to my house, I run upstairs to my bedroom and just collapse in tears onto my bed.

* * *

_And now here I am. Laying here in my bed crying my eyes out. What have I done? What's going to happen now? I don't think I'll ever be able to face Zack after running out on him. I left him standing there with no answers. On top of that, if anyone else ever finds out, I could go to jail. Zack's only sixteen and I'm nineteen. He's a minor and he didn't exactly want to do it in the first place. I kind of pushed it on him. "Oh my God," I think, "did I RAPE him?" Legally I did, but if he didn't want to do it, I may have just RAPED him for real. A million horrible thoughts rush through my head. Words can't describe how I feel. It's the worst feeling I've ever felt in my life. I start crying again. Slowly, I begin to drift way. I cry myself to sleep. _

_How could this have happened? What have I done? I lost control in a moment of weakness..._

**(Author's Note: This story popped into my head while working on Terror at the Tipton. I had no intentions of writing any stories involving sex between any of the characters, but this story won't go away in my head. That probably sounds sick, but at least this isn't a twincest story, lol. Due to the incredible amount of views, I will come back to this story when I'm finished with Terror at the Tipton.)**


	2. Confusion

**Chapter 2: Confusion**

**Zack's POV-**

_What just happened? I've never been so confused in my life. One minute, I'm minding my own business looking for batteries, the next Maddie is on top of me in one of the greatest moments I've ever experienced, and then she runs out on me leaving me standing here embarrassed and confused. If she doesn't love me, why'd she force me into that situation in the first place?_

* * *

**Earlier that evening...**

I was supposed to go see The Dark Knight with Cody and Bob tonight, but I was tired and decided to stay home. Cody and I waited for Bob downstairs in the game room. We played a few games of air hockey until Bob showed up. Cody and Bob tried to convince me to go ahead and come with them, but I just really wasn't up to it. I decided to go upstairs and take a nap in our suite. There wouldn't be anyone there to bother me with Cody gone and mom doing her show.

I spot Mr. Moseby on my way across the lobby and decide to say "hi" to him. "Hey there, Mr. Moseby," I say with a smile, "I'm clocking out and heading home." I've joked with him before about my job here at the Tipton. My job, of course, being to keep him on his toes and cause as much chaos as possible. He smiles at the joke. He's recently complimented me about how much I've grown up and don't cause trouble for him as much anymore, but we still joke about it.

"Oh dear," he says, "now the rest of my evening is going to be very boring. I'll have to find something else to keep myself occupied."

We both laugh a little and I tell him "goodnight."

"Goodnight, Zack," he says with a smile before moving on about his business. Moseby used to claim he hated me and Cody, but I think deep down he really likes us even though he'd never admit it. To tell the truth, me and Cody really like him too. Even though, we'd never admit it...

I climb into the elevator and press the button to go to the 23rd floor. Luckily, no one else gets on the elevator on the way up and I make it pretty quickly. When I reach my floor the elevator dings and the door slides open. I step out into the hallway and head for my suite. The door is locked so I use my key-card. I open the door and walk in. For some reason the lights are all on. It doesn't take me long to figure out why. Before I realize what I'm seeing, the other person in the room turns and screams as they turn and look at me. I can only stand frozen in shock as I realize that standing before me is Maddie. I've had a huge crush on Maddie since my family moved into the Tipton about four years ago. I've tried, unsuccessfully, many times over the years to get her to go out with me. She shoots me down every time. At first I didn't really let it faze me. I was just a kid then. But, as I've gotten older, my feelings for her have gotten stronger to the point that every time she turns me down is like being punched in the stomach. I just love her so much and would do anything to make her see me for something other than the little boy that used to run up and down these halls. I would give anything to have her love me back. It hurts me so much that I can barely stand to be around her knowing that I can never have her. Now the woman of my dreams, the source of my inner torture is standing in front of me naked. She grabs something to cover herself with and I quickly realize that I'm staring at her. I can't help it. She's as beautiful as she is smart. The realization snaps me out of my frozen shock and I panic and try to cover my eyes.

"Oh no! Sorry, Maddie! I- I didn't know you were here!" is all I can get out. Before she has a chance to yell at me I turn and run back into the hallway and shut the door behind me. I turn left and see a maid cart a few feet away. I go on the other side of it and sit down in the floor and wait. Finally, I see Maddie come out of our suite and right toward the elevator. As soon as I hear the ding and know she's on the elevator, I come out from behind the cart and go back to my suite. When I go inside and turn the light on, I see Maddie's belongings in a backpack sitting on the table in the living room. I stand there staring at it for a few minutes think about what had just happened.

A thought crosses my mind and, even though I know I shouldn't, I reach down and unzip Maddie's bag. I dig around a little just to see what's inside. I come across the pair of panties she'd been wearing. I pull them out and study them. I start to feel a little dirty so I put them back in the bag and zip it back up. I place it as best I can back the way it was. I go on in my bedroom and get undressed. With Maddie's beautiful naked body still dominating my thoughts, I climb into my bed for my nap. I can't get the image out of my head and I start feeling a tingle between my legs. I can feel myself becoming aroused. I try to put it out of my mind. I start thinking about other things like video games. I find it impossible to concentrate on anything else. I can't shake the image of Maddie standing there naked. With that on my mind and a boner in my boxers, I start to drift away to sleep.

* * *

**Later that evening...**

"Zack. Zack, wake up." I slowly awaken hearing my brothers voice calling my name. "Zack." I can feel him gently shaking me trying to wake me up. I had told Cody to wake me up when he got back from the movies. I roll over onto my back and see him sitting on the edge of my bed.

"I'm awake," I say, still kind of groggy.

"Ok, you said to wake you when I got back," he says. I roll over and look at the clock. It's a few minutes past 8:00pm. I had wanted to take a short nap so I wouldn't be so tired, but I also didn't want it to cause me to be up all night. This way, I'll be able to stay up a few more hours and still get a full night's sleep.

I lay there a few minutes with Cody still sitting beside me. He's picked up a Game Informer magazine from my night stand and is reading one of the articles. "Force Unleashed is going to be awesome," he says finally. We've both been saving up to buy a copy of the new Star Wars game when it comes out.

"I know, I can't wait," I tell him, "just a few more weeks."

"When you get up, do you want to play some Ultimate Alliance?" he askes.

"Yeah, what level were we on?"

"Murder World," he answers, "We just rescued Jean Grey."

"Oh, right. I forgot. We haven't played in a few weeks. I call dibs on Deadpool."

"That's fine, I'll be Iron Man," he says, "I'll go get it ready." With that, he lays the magazine down, stands up and leaves the room.

Finally, I climb out of bed. I can feel the sticky mess in my boxers. My entire nap had been spent dreaming about Maddie and my underwear was showing the signs of it. I had noticed it while Cody was still sitting next to me so I had to lay there waiting for him to leave so I could get up and change without him seeing it. I go over to my dresser and pick out a fresh pair of boxers. I lock the bedroom door and take off the ones I have on. I wipe my stomach and crotch clean and put on the new pair of underwear. I pick up the pants and shirt I had been wearing before and put them back on. I throw my dirty shorts under the bed so no one finds them while they're still wet and sticky. Then, I walk out of the bedroom on my way to the bathroom. I see Cody over by the t.v. getting the game ready. He's mumbling something to himself and doesn't notice me. I go into the bathroom to pee and when I come out Cody is waiting for me.

"The batteries are dead on one of the controlers and I can't find the plug and play," he says, "Do you have any extra batteries or know where to get some?"

"I don't have any, but I know where some are. Arwin keeps some in his office downstairs and told me I could get some any time I needed."

"Are you sure he doesn't mind?" Cody, always worrying.

"Trust me, little brother, he said I could come down any time," I assure him, "I'll go get some. How many do we need?"

"Two for this one that's dead and you may want to grab a couple of extras in case the other one dies," he says.

"Ok, I'll be back." I turn and leave the suite. I go down the hallway and to the elevator. When it arrives, I press the "B" to go to the basement.

The basement hallways is dimly lit this late in the evening. Arwin has already gone home and no one else usually comes down here. I make my way to the office and when I open the door, it's pitch black inside. I feel around for the light switch and flip it on. I know exactly where the batteries are. Arwin's office is actually four rooms. The largest, main room is where his desk and computer room are. There's two smaller storage rooms and then another larger room hidden behind his bookcase. I find the batteries in one of the storage rooms. I turn to leave and hit the light on my way out. When I go back into the main office area, I'm startled to see Maddie sitting in the chair with her head down on the small table.

"Maddie, what are you doing in here?" She jump as I catch her off guard. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm fine," she says when she turns around. I tell she has been crying and she tries to wipe tears from her eyes. "What are you doing down here at this hour?"

"I came down here looking for some batteries for my game," I answer, showing her the batteries. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?" She then tells me about her date with a guy named Adam and how he'd tried to take advantage of her in the alley behind the hotel. He touched her and tried to get her to have sex with him. She tells me how she thinks she'll never be able to keep a boyfriend and will never be happy because she's not ready to take things that far with anyone. "Maddie, you shouldn't worry about things like that. You're a much better person than most girls and it's nice that you won't give in to that kind of pressure," I try my best to assure her.

I move over close and put my arms around her to try and comfort her. She doesn't say anything for a few minutes and I just hold on to her trying to make her feel better. Finally, she turns and looks at me. She has a strange look in her eye and I'm not sure what to think, but keep my arm around her and wait to see what she might say.

"Zack," she whispers, "did you know you're the only guy who's ever seen me naked?" This reminder of tonight's events catches me by surprise and I let go. I can feel myself starting to blush with embarrassment and I begin to get nervous trying to think of what to say and what her reaction is going to be. Is she going to be mad? Does she hate me? I mean, it wasn't my fault. I had no idea she was even there.

"Oh... um... about that. Maddie I'm sorry about that," I say nervously. I start to feel a little queasy as the panic starts to come over me. "I really had no idea..." Suddenly and without warning, she grabs me and kisses me right on the lips. I'm shocked by this and the panic worsens and I start to back away from her, but she grabs hold and keeps me there. She pulls me in and starts kissing me again and at first I resist, not really sure what is happening or why. Then, I feel her tongue in my mouth. My body gives way and I stop resisting. I get completely lost in the moment. The moment I had dreamed of hundreds of times since moving into the Tipton, but never imagined that it could ever really happen. I start to kiss her back as she begins rubbing my chest. I'm completely vulnerable. I can feel her taking her shoes off, but I keep my eyes closed. I feel her take my hand and she moves it up to her chest. She starts rubbing herself with my hand. At this point, I have lost all control of myself and am putty in her hands. I don't want this to end. I keep thinking this is just another dream and I'm going to wake up any second with Cody sitting on the couch beside me. My other hand moves, on its own, up to her other tit and begins rubbing it. I still keep my eyes closed and my body takes over for itself. My mind is racing. She starts unbuttoning her shirt. I let go for a moment while she takes it off, but we never stop kissing. Once her shirt is off, she goes for mine. I mindlessly raise my arms up over my head while she pulls it off, breaking the kiss for the first time. I open my eyes and look into hers for a second before she grabs me and starts kissing me again. As our tongues battle I can feel myself getting more and more aroused and I can tell she's taking off her panties. She then takes off the bra. She grabs my hands and places them on her now bare tits. They take over for themselves and go right to work on her naked flesh. She starts rubbing my bare chest again, all the way down my stomach to my groin. Her hand brushes up against my raging hard-on and it excites me even more. Despite what some people think, I've never had sex before, but Maddie's hand is not the first time a girl has touched me there. I've had some pretty strong make-out sessions with a few girls who have, in the heat of the moment, began rubbing me through my pants.

Maddie starts unbuttoning my pants. She lets go of the kiss for a moment while she slides my pants down and pulls them off of me. She then stands back up and starts kissing me harder than before. She rubs my chest again, then my stomach, but this time she doesn't stop there. She slips her hands into my boxers and starts stroking the short hair. While this is happening, I open my eyes. Suddenly panic sets in again as I remember that Arwin has security cameras installed in his office to keep people from stealing his tools. As I feel a girl's hand on my penis for the first time I realize someone could be watching and if they aren't now, they will see it when they check the tapes. As Maddie begins rubbing her hands up and down my dick, the realization of the cameras makes me take a sudden step back. Not only could we be being watched, but I also realize that this whole situation, while I've dreamed about it for years, isn't right. All this time I've fantasized about Maddie, I never realized until now that she was an adult and I'm just sixteen. Now, with the very real possibility of getting caught, I realize Maddie could get into very big trouble for this. I love her and want to do it, but we can't. I care about her too much to let her get in trouble over me. This thought hurts me even more than all the times she's turned me down because now that I have her here, I realize I can't do anything about it without causing HUGE problems for both of us.

"Maddie, wait," I say nervously, "this isn't right. We can't..."

"Zack, I want this. Trust me. This is what I want," she says interrupting me. Before I can say anything else, she grabs me and pulls me back to her and starts kissing me again. I try to get away and put a stop to it. When Arwin checks the tape from the camera tomorrow, all hell will break loose and Maddie could lose her job... or worse.

She pushes me against the larger work table behind me. The corner of the table is digging into my back so I sit myself up on top of it to stop the pain and also to try and get away from Maddie. Instead, she leans in closer, pushing me onto my back on top of the table. She climbs up onto the table and sits on top of me. She takes my hand and puts it on her chest again and rubs her tit with it. Then she rubs my hand down her stomach past the short skirt she's still wearing. I start to feel her warm, moist spot as I realize she's got my hand and is rubbing her pussy with it.

"Maddie, wait," I try to stop her again, but she don't let me finish. I try to pull my hand away, but she holds it there. She leans in and starts kissing me again with her tongue in my mouth. Finally, she lets go of my hand and starts rubbing my legs with hers. She slides them all the way back up to my boxers. She reaches in with one hand and starts slowly jerking me off while her other hand unbuttons the trap in the front of my shorts. She pulls my dick out through the hole and starts rubbing it with both hands. Then, she lets go and, while still keeping her tongue in my mouth, she raises herself up above me. I try one more time to get away as she takes my dick in one hand and slowly lowers herself onto it, guiding it inside her. With this, I lose control again. It feels so good. I've never experience such a rush before in my life. My body then takes control of itself again and I push myself inside her as far as I can. My entire body tingles with ecstasy. I let out a soft moan as she takes control again and starts riding up and down on top of me. Any desire I had to stop before is washed away and I let her continue. She seems kind of awkward at first and I know it's because it's her first time also. The longer she goes though, the better it feels and the more she seems to get used to it. My breathing gets heavier as I start to feel the pressure building. Finally, my entire body overloads with pleasure and I can feel myself climax inside her. I relax afterwards, but Maddie keeps going a little longer until she can see I'm done. She leans over and kisses me one last time before climbing back down off the table. I raise up and fix my underwear before climbing down myself.

We both get dressed in silence. The whole time I'm thinking about what just happened. All this time I've loved Maddie and wanted to be with her. Now, I may finally have my chance. I decide I'll figure out something to do about the video tape later. All I want right now is to enjoy this moment with my girl. She finally saw me as something more than a kid. She has finally realized that she loves me back. I finish putting on my clothes and wait for her to do the same. When she's finished, she turns and looks at me for a moment. I ignore the odd look on her face.

"Maddie, I love you. I've always loved you," I say, hoping to hear the same thing in return. I take a step forward and try to kiss her, but to my shock and disappointment, she pushes me away. Actually, she pushed me kind of hard. I start to feel sick as I wonder why. "Maddie, what's wrong? Did I do something wrong?" I ask embarrassed and confused. She doesn't say anything at first, but what she does say when she finally speaks hits me like a knife through the heart.

"No, Zack," she starts, "you didn't. I am the one who has done something wrong here. This was wrong. I shouldn't have done this and I'm sorry." Tears start welling up in her eyes. "I am so sorry," she says. Then she turns around and runs away, out of the office, into the dark hallway, and disappears from sight.

I stand there broken. A rush of emotions flood over me. Confusion, heartache, panic. What happened? Why did she run away? A million questions burning inside my mind. I can feel tears starting to run down my cheeks when, suddenly my cell phone beeps. It's a text message from Cody who has been waiting for me this whole time.

"Did you get lost?" it says.

Without knowing what else to do, I decide to seek out my brother for help. I know I can trust him and tell him anything. Maybe he can help me make sense of what has just happened. I leave the office, turning out the light on my way out the door. I forgot the tape. I realize that I'm not even sure where the camera feed goes, but I remember that Cody does. He's seen it before. He can help me find it and get rid of it. I go down the hallway to the elevator. When it finally shows up, I go in and press the button to return to my floor.

When I arrive back at the suite, Cody is in our bedroom. When he sees me, I can tell he's a little upset about me taking so long.

"Where have you been?" he asks very irritated. "What took you so long? I've been sitting up here waiting for you."

"Cody, you'll never believe what just happened. I have to talk to you about something, but you can't tell anyone else," I plead.

"What happened, bubba?" he asks no longer angry or irritated, but genuinely concerned. "I promise not to say anything."

We go into our bedroom and shut and lock the door. I begin to tell Cody about the events that just happened...

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

_**(Author's Note: Please read and submit feedback.)**_


	3. Cody Finds Out

**Chapter 3: Cody Finds Out**

**Cody's POV-**

_What in the world is going on? I came home from the movies and everything was normal. Zack and I was going to play a game, but he had to go find some batteries. When he finally came back, some very serious problems have arisen..._

* * *

**Earlier that evening...**

I arrived back at the Tipton from the movies at about 8:00pm. Bob and I went to see The Dark Knight. The theater is only a block away so we walked and Bob's mom picked us up afterward and dropped me off back at the hotel. She didn't think it was safe for us to walk this late, even if it was such a short distance.

I go into the lobby and head straight for the elevator that will take me back upstairs to my suite. Mom's probably just starting her last show of the evening and Zack is upstairs alone. He told me he was planning to take a nap and to wake him when I got home. He was supposed to go to the movies with us, but I don't think he was feeling well and decided to stay home.

When I arrive on our floor, I unlock the door to our suite and go inside. I notice a backpack sitting on the table in the living room. It's pink so I know it's not mine or Zack's so I go over and pick it up to see try and figure out where it came from. In black sharpie on one of the arm straps I see the initials "MF" and realize the backpack must be Maddie's. I put it back down and go toward the bedroom I share with Zack.

I open the door slowly. Even though I'm going to wake him up, I want to do it gently. That's how I'd want to be woken up and I know if I make noise or wake him up suddenly, he'll get me back. I sit down slowly on the edge of his bed and put my hand on his side. At first I just whisper his name hoping he may already be awake. When he doesn't respond, I shake him lightly and whisper his name again. This time, he begins to stir.

"Zack. Zack, wake up," I whisper, still shaking him gently. "Zack."

"I'm awake," he says, rolling over onto his back.

"Ok, you said to wake you when I got back," I remind him. I notice a magazine on his night stand and reach over to pick it up. It's the new Game Informer and I turn through and see an article about the new Star Wars game that's coming out in a few weeks. Zack and I have been pooling our allowance to buy a copy when it comes out. I read the article while I wait for Zack to shake his grogginess. He finally starts to raise up as I'm finishing the story. "Force Unleashed is going to be awesome," I say to him mostly to see if he's fully awake yet.

"I know, I can't wait. Just a few more weeks," he responds.

"When you get up, you want to play some Ultimate Alliance?" I ask.

"Yeah, what level are we on?"

"Murder World," I remind him, "We just rescued Jean Grey." Marvel Ultimate Alliance is one of our favorite games and, even though we've beaten it several times, it never gets old.

"Oh, right. I forgot. We haven't played in a few weeks. I call dibs on Deadpool," he says. I don't mind. He always plays as Deadpool. I've often joked with him about how much like the character he is. Deadpool and Zack both have broken "brain/mouth" filters.

"That's fine. I'll be Iron Man," I tell him. "I'll go get it ready." Just like Zack, I have my own favorite character. Iron Man. If I was a superhero, I'd be one like Iron Man or Batman. Both characters are geniuses who use their brain power rather than any super power to invent the gadgets they use to fight crime and evil. Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne also happen to be very rich ladies' men. Something, I hope to be some day. I lay the magazine back down and get up to go into the living room.

I hook our X-Box up to the t.v. and put the game in the tray. When I try to turn the controllers on, I notice the batteries are dead on one of them. I dig around in the bag we keep the accessories and cords in to find the charger, but it's no where to be found. I keep looking to see if there may be some batteries, but again, nothing. I get up to go tell Zack, but he's not in our room anymore. He must have went into the bathroom when I wasn't paying attention.

"The batteries are dead on one of the controllers and I can't find the plug and play," I let him know when he comes out, "Do you have any extra batteries or know where to get some?"

"I don't have any, but I know where some are. Arwin keeps some in his office downstairs and told me I could get some any time I needed."

"Are you sure he doesn't mind?" Arwin hates it when people take his tools and stuff and I'm not sure whether he actually told Zack he didn't mind or if Zack just assumed he didn't care.

"Trust me, little brother, he said I could come down any time," he tries to assure me, "I'll go get some. How many do we need?"

"Two for this one that's dead and you may want to grab a couple of extras in case the other one dies," I decide.

"Ok, I'll be back," he says as he finishes putting on his shoes. He turns and leaves the suite, shutting the door behind him.

After Zack leaves, I decide to look one more time to see if I can find the charger for the controllers, but I still have no success. I figure it should take Zack about ten minutes to get downstairs, find the batteries, and come back up. That's if he knows exactly where they are. If he doesn't, it'll take him longer. I decide to go ahead and take my shower while I wait for him. I pick out a clean pair of boxers from my dresser and find my clean pajamas and head toward the bathroom. I get undressed and climb in and let the warm water run over me.

* * *

When I'm done with my shower, I climb out and dry off. I put on my clothes. I go back into the living room fully expecting to find Zack sitting there waiting for me. To my surprise, he's not back yet. I figure I've got a few minutes to spare so I decide to finish reading the rest of the magazine I found on his nightstand. I sit on the edge of his bed and pick up the magazine and start reading. Without realizing it, I read through the entire magazine. When I'm finished, I realize that Zack still isn't back yet and even if he didn't find the batteries, he would have given up by now. I get my cell phone from the pocket of the pants I'd been wearing and send a text message to him hoping he's got his phone with him. After sitting there for a few more minutes with no response, I start to get worried. I decide to get dressed and go look for him.

Just as I'm about to change clothes, Zack finally shows up.

"Where have you been?" I demand before he has a chance to say anything. "What took you so long? I've been sitting up here waiting for you."

"Cody, you'll never believe what just happened. I have to talk to you about something, but you can't tell anyone else," he says, almost pleading. I can immediately tell something is wrong and I start to worry about what it is.

"What happened, bubba?" I ask. "I promise not to say anything." He shuts the door and locks it behind him. I can tell by the look on his face that whatever his problem its, it must be serious. He sits down on my bed and I take my place beside him. He sits silently for a few minutes staring at the floor. "What is it, bubba? You're worrying me," I finally break the silence.

"When... when I went downstairs to get the batteries," he starts, "I went into Arwin's office. I knew exactly where they were so I went straight for them. They were in the storage room in the back. When I went back into the office, Maddie was sitting there crying at Arwin's work bench."

"What was she crying about? Is she ok?" I ask, now concerned for Maddie.

"She had been on a date with some guy named Adam and he tried to take advantage of her," he continues. "He touched her and tried to get her to have sex with him. When she tried to stop him, he told her to get out and dumped her right there. She told me how she thought she'd never be able to be happy or have a boyfriend because she wasn't ready to take things that far."

"What a jackass," I say. "Maddie's a great girl and should worry about things like that."

"That's what I told her."

"So, is she going to be ok?" I ask.

"I don't think so," he says. "It gets worse. Earlier tonight, after you and Bob left, I came back to the suite to take a nap and walked in on Maddie changing. She was naked." I have to think about that for a minute. Even after telling me about Maddie's bad date, I can't think of anything that would make Zack think seeing her naked was worse.

Zack has loved Maddie since we moved into the Tipton a few years ago. She has consistently turned him down every time he's ever hit on her, but regardless, his feelings for her have only gotten stronger. Despite my confusion, I don't say anything. I figure he will explain himself if I let him continue without interrupting him.

"When I was trying to comfort her after she told me about her date," he goes on, "she mentioned how I was the only guy who had ever seen her naked." He stops for a minute and the expression on his face makes me worry again about what he's about to say. "Cody... Maddie..." He doesn't finish.

"What is it, bubba. You know you can tell me anything. What happened?" I put my arm around him and pull him close to me. I wrap my other arm around in front of him and hug him to try comfort him and finish with whatever he's about to tell me.

"Cody... Maddie made me have sex with her," he says finally. Tears start welling in his eyes as he buries his head in my shoulder. The weight of what he has just said stuns me. I am completely at a loss for words. I just sit there holding him as the words play through my mind over and over and I try to find what to say in response. "I tried to stop her, but she just kept going and held me down. I knew it wasn't right, Cody. I love Maddie, but when it came down to it, I knew it wasn't right," he says sobbing. "I tried to stop her, Cody. I knew it wasn't right. I knew there were cameras in Arwin's office and I couldn't stop." The mention of the cameras just makes the whole thing harder to grasp. If what Zack is telling me is true, and I have no reason to think it isn't considering how hard he's crying on my shoulder, other people may find out about it and both Maddie and Zack would be in HUGE trouble. That is the worst thing that could happen, especially for Maddie. She would be fired for sure and probably go to jail. For her to have sex with Zack would be illegal if she induced it. She would go to prison and probably have to pay fines and no telling what else. (A/N: See note below) Zack, still crying raises his head up and looks at me. He tries to stop crying, but can't so he goes on anyway, "Cody... I thought she loved me. I thought after all these years, she had finally stopped seeing me as a kid and loved me as much as I love her," he pauses and continues sobbing, "I thought she loved me, but she just ran away and left me standing there. I don't know what to do, Cody. I don't know what to do..." He buries his head back in my shoulder and I hold him tight trying very hard to figure out what to do. I know we'll need to try and get the recording from the cameras in Arwin's office. That's top priority first thing in the morning. I know exactly where the feed goes and it shouldn't be much of a problem. After that... I don't know what to do.

I feel sorry for Zack. If he really tried to stop Maddie like he said, and again, I have no reason to think he's not telling the truth, then she pretty much raped him. On top of that, Zack though that because she was having sex with him, that she loved him and she apparently left him hanging. I care a lot about her, but the more I think about it, I can't help becoming angry at Maddie. I know she was having her own problems, but whatever her reason was, she hurt my brother. I've never seen him like this before. I want to go directly downstairs to the ballroom and tell mom what happened, but I promised Zack I wouldn't say a word. I'm just so confused about the whole thing.

"Come on, bubba," I speak for the first time in several minutes, "let's just go to bed and we'll try to figure this thing out in the morning. If you want, you can sleep with me." Any time either of us has been upset, Zack and I have always slept next to each other for comfort. Usually I'm the one sleeping in Zack's bed as I'm more emotional that he is. Sleeping next to my brother just makes me feel safe from what ever troubles I'm having.

"Thanks, little brother," he manages a smile between sobs.

"I'll leave mom a note. Be right back." It's earlier than our normal bed time so I decide to leave mom a note and let her know we're already in bed. That way, she doesn't come in to tuck us in. I put it on the coffee table where she'll find it and go back to the bedroom. Zack is already covered up and I can still hear him sniffling, but he's finally stopped crying. I climb in beside him and cover up. He rolls over onto his side with his back to me to make room. I lay on my side facing him and put my arm around him to comfort him. "We'll figure this out, bubba. I promise," I whisper to him. I raise up and kiss him on the cheek before settling back in.

"Thank you, little brother," he says. "I love you, Cody."

"Love you,too, Zack."

* * *

**Author's Note: Massachusetts Law is as follows- **

**M.G.L. c.272, sec. 4****. Inducing person under 18 to have sexual intercourse.**

**Whoever induces any person under 18 years of age of chaste life to have unlawful sexual intercourse shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than three years or in a jail or house of correction for not more than two and one-half years or by a fine of not more than 1,000 or by both such fine and imprisonment.**

**Analogous to Federal laws ****18 USC 2422**** and ****18 USC 2423**** . **


	4. The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things

**Chapter 4: The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things**

**Maddie's POV-**

_The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? - Jeremiah 17:9_

The screeching alarm clock jolts me out of a dead sleep. I roll over and hit the button to turn it off and try to gather myself. Immediantly, the thoughts of what happened last night dominate my mind. I replay every moment in my mind and try very hard to figure out what happened and why. After what happened with Adam I was feeling bad about myself. I began to question my own morals and values. I've desperately wanted to find a boyfriend who loves me for who I am and shares my same beliefs. It's become increasingly difficult to find people who fall into that category and over the years, I'd gotten used to dating people who didn't work out. Because I'd lowered my standards, I found myself dating guys who had no moral code, no values, and no respect for me. Many of them tried to get me to take things farther than I was ready for. All of them dumped me either right on the spot or soon after. Adam was the last straw for me emotionally.

Most of my friends had already taken that step. I had begun to wonder if there was something wrong with me that was causing me not to be willing to do it myself. Last night while in Arwin's office, I had decided that the reason I couldn't take the next step was because I was afraid. Afraid of what exactly, I couldn't figure out. I was weak emotionally and in that moment of weakness, a friend was there to comfort me. Someone that I knew very well and trusted. Someone very close to me. When I looked up and wiped the tears from my eyes, I saw Zack. Zack has always shown that he had feelings for me and for a sixteen-year-old, he's admittedly very cute. More importantly, he's someone I trust. My heart was telling me it didn't want to hurt anymore. That if I wanted to be "normal," I had to compromise something I believed in and take that big step. My heart told me that in order to get over my fear of doing what I now knew I had to do, I would have to be with someone that I could trust. Knowing how Zack felt about me and being one of the few people I trust, I took advantage.

At first, he tried to pull away. I figured it was due to the shock of the whole experience and held him there. I knew once the shock wore off, he'd be into it. I had to over come my fear so I kept going. For some reason, he still tried to pull away. My heart had already made up my mind and I could not stop. Something else took over my body and mind completely and, despite his struggle to get free, I MADE Zack stay. Finally, after realizing there was no going back, he gave in. As soon as it was over, I knew I had made a HUGE mistake. Suddenly everything that had been so cloudy and confusing in my mind became clear as glass. For starters, I had basically just forced a sixteen-year-old boy to have sex with me. That in itself was bad enough, but it got worse. This kid was someone I'd watched grow up over the last few years and under normal circumstances thought of as being like a little brother to me. As bad as it is, I'm closer to Zack and Cody than I am to my own REAL little brother. I'm also very close to their mother, Carey. What would she think if she some how found out? And to make things even worse, these are people that I see on a daily basis at work so even if Cody and Carey didn't know what happened, Zack does and there will some very uneasy moments to come when I have to face him again.

When I was getting dressed Zack told me he loved me. This is something he's said to me many times over the years, but this time was different. This time, I could see in his eyes and on his face that he meant it. I knew he meant it from the bottom of his heart and could tell that he mistook what had just happened for me loving him back. This really couldn't get any worse.

I climb out of bed and get myself ready for work. I have to work the early shift today meaning I'll have to face Zack early in the day. I don't know what I'm going to say to him. I figure I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. When I get out of the bath, I run into my Granny in the hallway. She's been staying with us for a few weeks. She came into town for a political rally and will be flying back to Seattle in a few days.

"Good morning, Maddie," she says, "Is something wrong?" I guess my face told the story.

"Good morning, Granny," I say as I try to think of an excuse. "It's nothing. I'm ok, but thanks for asking."

"Now, Maddie, do I look like I was born yesterday," she laughs, "I know when something is bothering my granddaughter." She's good.

"Well, it's not me. I have a friend who is in a little trouble, but they should be fine. I wouldn't worry." I try to get her off my case so I can go on.

"Well, what kind of trouble? Tell me about it and maybe I can help." It didn't work.

"It's not a financial problem, Granny. They just had a problem, but it should be fine. Really, you don't have to worry."

"Well, if you insist. I wasn't trying to intrude, but you know, I've been around a long, long time. I've been a lot of places and been through a lot of things. If you change your mind, I'd be more than happy to give you some advice for your friend," she says. I think about it for a minute and realize that she is right. Maybe I could get some advice from her without giving her too much information.

"Well... my friend... made a mistake. She did something that she thought at the time was what she wanted, but regretted it instantly after it was done. She felt like her heart was trying to tell her that it was the right thing, but when it was over, she realized that it was very wrong. Now she doesn't know what to do to make things right."

"Well, what kind of mistake are we talking about here? Did she kill someone?" Granny asks jokingly.

"No, she didn't kill anyone. I don't want to say too much, but someone she cares about a great deal might be hurt by it. It was almost like her heart tricked her into thinking that what she was doing was really what she wanted."

"You're talking about sex aren't you?" She says suddenly. The bluntness of the question catches me by surprise and I fumble around trying to figure out how to answer.

"Ok... I can tell there's no fooling you. Yes, I'm talking about... sex," I say finally.

"So, your friend felt like her heart was telling her she wanted to have sex with this boy, but after she did it, she knew right away that it was wrong," she says recapping. "Well, Maddie, being a young woman in this day in age is very hard. There are a lot of pressures and a lot of outside influences that can cause good, well meaning people to make very bad decisions. We can't judge someone by one bad decision alone, we all make mistakes. Your friend was feeling that pressure and gave in. She was probably very confused emotionally. Sometimes, when we get like that, right and wrong can become blurred in the confusion. You begin to convince yourself that the wrong decision is really what you want when really, you are taking the easy way out. Even emotionally strong people have weak moments. In those moments, it's very difficult not to take what seems like the easy road. The bad part, though, is that the so-called 'easy road' leads you to a place that is worse than where you were before. Your friend is probably very having a very hard time and will need your support. I trust that you'll be there for her if she needs you."

I think about her words for a few moments trying to figure out how I can apply it to myself and my situation. There really wasn't much I could get out of her without confessing the whole thing and I was not going to do that. One thing I did get out of it was that, despite my horrible mistake, I can feel like I'm not a bad person. I was feeling the pressure and gave in. I tried to take the easy way out. Now I'm worse off than before.

"Thank you, Granny, " I say, hugging her. "I will be there for her."

"You know, Maddie, sometimes your heart tells you want something that your brain knows isn't right. Your heart and your brain are in a constant battle for control. If we all just listened to our heart, we'd be in a lot of trouble. Your 'heart' is your feelings and those can change from moment to moment. One moment your 'heart' or feelings may be so angry, you want to hurt someone. Your brain keeps that in check. You know it isn't right to hurt that person. Some people get into desperate situations and their 'heart' or feelings take over for their brain. A man who robs a bank for example. Maybe that man has a family with small children and can't find work. In his desperate time, his heart tells him he must do something to help his family and that perhaps by robbing the bank, he can get enough money to feed them. Even though his brain tells him it's wrong, his desire to feed his family overrides it. The heart is very deceitful, Maddie. Like it says in Jeremiah, 'The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.' That's why it is very important to listen to your feelings, but also to your brain to keep things in check. No matter how you feel at any given moment, you must always remember what is right. I hope your friend will be ok and my prayers are with her. You've got to get going though. You're going to be late for work." Looking at my watch I realize that she's right. I have to go now if I'm going to catch a cab in time to make it.

"Thank you, Granny, and I'll let her know."

I hurry downstairs and hail the first cab I see. I tell him where I'm going and on the way, I think about what Granny had said. Despite her efforts, she wasn't really much help. Not only did her advice not really apply to my specific situation, but it really didn't make much sense anyway even if it did. Granny has a good heart and goes to church and does everything she can to do what's right by people, but when she starts talking she has a tendency to ramble. I'm sure what she said made sense to her, but to me, not so much.

I arrive at the Tipton Hotel and go into the staff lounge to put my belongings into my locker and to punch in. I'll be opening the candy counter this morning so I head out to my station to start going over the stock to see what needs to be filled when I hear a voice behind me calling my name.

"Madeline." I turn around and almost swallow my tongue when I see Mr. Moseby standing behind me. My mind starts racing as I try to determine if he somehow knows about last night.

"Yes, Mr. Moseby," I try to stay calm.

"Madeline, I need to see you in my office immediately. We have a very urgent matter that must be discussed," he says as he extends his arm pointing me in the direction of his office.

My heart drops as I realize that my worst fear has come true. I decide that he must know and that I'm about to lose my job... or worse...

**(Author's Note: Please read and review. Also, visit this message board for fans of Dylan and Cole Sprouse- www.cdsprouse.co.nr)**


	5. Cody Goes for the Video

**Chapter 5: Cody Goes for the Video**

**Cody's POV:**

I wake up feeling my brother's warm breath on my face. I open my eyes to see him still sleeping peacefully a few inches away, curled up and clutching his pillow like I used to do with my teddy bear years ago. I gently raise up to see the clock on the stand behind him and see that it's a few minutes past 7:00am. I slowly climb out of bed so as not to wake Zack and move over toward my dresser. I grab a pair of pants and a shirt and put them on over my pajamas. I don't have time to change completely. I have to get down to the basement before Arwin comes in for his shift. I put my shoes on and go quietly into the living room, past my sleeping mother, out the door, and into the hallway. I get on the elevator and press the button for the basement. My mission this morning is to get down to the second basement level and get the tapes from Arwin's security camera.

After a few minutes on the elevator, I finally reach the basement. I make my way to Arwin's office where I find the door unlocked. I go inside and across the room to the bookcase. Next to the bookcase is Arwin's desk and hanging on the wall in front of it is a picture of my mom. Arwin has always had a crush on my mom. Zack and I have tried to hook them up, but mom just doesn't like him that way and can't see him for anything other than a friend. Admittedly, he is sort of creepy and he is also very immature for a man his age. He lived with his mother his entire life until she moved out last year. Arwin was 34 then. Finally on his own for the first time he had no idea what to do. He stayed with us in our suite for about a week until he almost drove us all insane. Zack and I helped him get on his feet and showed him that he could make it on his own. We fixed up his apartment and he actually got a girlfriend. I'm pretty sure it was his first.

I lift the picture up off of the hook and as soon as I do, I hear the unlocking sound and the bookcase comes loose and swings open a bit. I lay the picture down on the desk and pull the bookcase open the rest of the way revealing the door behind it. Beyond that door is a large room that Zack and I call the "dungeon room" with cage-like cells in it that was used to hold prisoners during the 1800s and early 1900s. Back then, the Tipton Hotel was a common place to find law enforcement officers of the day stopping while transporting various prisoners between Boston, New York, and Philadelphia. While the actual hotel building itself burned down decades ago, the basement and sub-basement are both original. Most of the basement has been renovated with the exception of this one room and the sub-basement has been almost completely redone. The sub-basement houses the security office of the hotel. It was put in a few years before my family moved in. The guy who worked security was a man named Frank. He was a nice man, but he quit about six months after we moved in and Mr. Moseby still hasn't gotten around to replacing him. He says the whole thing was a waste of money. Crime really isn't that much of a problem at this hotel to begin with, but the security cameras and the one guard weren't enough to do much good either way. Because of privacy, you can't put cameras in the actual rooms where most crimes would occur anyway which pretty much makes the whole system worthless. Or at least that's what Moseby thinks. I don't do it often, but I actually agree with him on this one.

I move to the very back of the "dungeon room" to the door marked "B2." The door isn't kept locked because no one who works here now knows about the door behind the book case except for Arwin. Even Zack has never been down in the sub-basement. I've only seen it once. I open the squeaky door and turn on the light switch just inside on the wall. The floresent lights flicker on and I walk down the stairs into the hallway below. There is only one door at the end and it leads into the security room. I go inside and scan over the equiptment. The one time I came down here, Arwin showed me what each of the different instruments and monitors is for. There is a wall of video monitors, one for each camera in the hotel. They all feed into a machine that houses the video disks. I find the unit that corresponds with the camera in Arwin's office and press the button to remove the disk. I replace it with a blank disk I brought down from our suite and close the tray. The disk I brought isn't the right type, but I figure by the time anyone notices, I'll be long gone. It will also prevent the camera from catching me leaving. With the job done, I hurry out of the room, close the door and run back down the hallway to the stairs a quick as I can. I turn the lights off and close the door and make my way back through the "dungeon room."

Once back inside Arwin's office, I push the bookcase closed and hang the picture of mom back in its place. When I am shocked to see Arwin standing behind me.

"Hey, Cody. Um... what are you doing down here?"


	6. Red Handed

**(Note from Hurricane: This chapter was written by Cetrix who will take over most of the writing on the rest of this story. Please read and review and let us both know what you think.)**

**Chapter 6: Red Handed**

**Cody's POV:**

_That was close!_

"Hey, Cody. Um... what are you doing down here?"

I stood there blankly trying to think of a good reason as to why I would be down here.

"Cody," Arwin said again, "is that one of my security disks?"

"uhh," I said attempting to think of a way out of this situation, I knew I had to convince Arwin to let me have the disk, but how?

"Cody," Arwin said as looked on the ground, "why is my cardboard cutout of your mother on the floor?"

I looked down and saw the cutout on the floor, this was just another annoying reminder of the obsession Arwin has with my mother, "I must of ran into it.

"Oh," Arwin said raising his hands to mentally balance two things, "Ok, Obsession, disk, obsession, disk…uhh, give me the disk."

"Wow," I said amazed, "You admitted that you're obsessed with my mom."

"Yeah," Arwin responded, "I've been going to S.A. meetings."

"S.A. meetings?"

Arwin nodded, "S.A., Stalkers Anonymous, it like Alcoholics Anonymous only with stalkers."

"Right," I said not wishing to continue that conversation, "So I'll be-"

"Giving me that disk," Arwin interrupted. I noticed he seemed to be focusing on something on the floor. "Is that Maddie's ankle bracelet on the floor?" My heart began to race; the bracelet must fallen off during the event.

"How do you know its Maddie's?" I ask struggling to think of an explanation for everything.

"OH," Arwin answered, "Because she made a big scene about it when she bought it last week." He bends over to pick up the anklet, "Also… there's a movie ticket down here." Arwin grabbed the anklet and movie ticket from the floor, "The ticket has Zack's name on it. Cody, have Zack and Maddie been down here?"

At that point I was panicking; my mind began to race as I continued struggling to think of a way out of the situation. I knew I couldn't just tell him they weren't down here, I would have to tell him that at least one of them was. The problem I faced is what, exactly, I should tell him. What would Zack, a 16 year old boy, be doing down in a basement with Maddie's…. Then it hit me, "yes, Zack was down here, alone, and he was doing something."

"What," Arwin asked. This guy never lets up.

"Well," I answered trying to think of a proper way to put it, "you know Zack has a crush on Maddie."

"Yes," Arwin said, "Yes I am aware of that."

"Well," I continued, "Maddie left her ankle bracelet in our suite last night and Zack decided to come down here alone and he..." I was making gestures to try to signal to Arwin what I was talking about, it was awkward for me, which actually seemed to improve the selling, then Arwin caught on.

"Oh, I see."

"Yeah, he was... uh..."

"-Relieving himself?" Arwin finished.

"That's a good way to put it," I said relieved, "and he relieved himself in front of the security cameras and so I thought I would spare him the embarrassment-"

"Take it away," Arwin said interrupting me, "just... take it."

"Ok," I said leaving the basement. I was proud of myself. Sure, Zack won't like the story I told, but it was better than the alternative. One thing is for sure, that was a very close call.

**(Note from Cetrix: I would like to thank Hurricane for letting me help him out with this story, it's a great story which has the potential to be a classic. Please lend you're opinion of this chapter.)**


	7. The Bag

_**(Note From Hurricane: This chapter was written by Cetrix.)  
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Chapter 7: The Bag

Maddie's POV-

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My heart was racing. Did Mr. Moseby know about what happened? Why does he want to see me in his office? All of these questions were racing around in my mind as I entered his office.

"Maddie," Mr. Moseby started as he sat down at his desk, "have a seat." I sat down slowly still wondering what this was about. Mr. Moseby pulled himself into his desk, "Maddie, Let's get right to the point." I could feel my legs shaking. Hopefully he couldn't tell from behind the desk. "Mr. Tipton has offered me a promotion."

"Really," I said relieved of the subject of discussion, "to what."

"He's making me Cruise Manager on the soon-to-be-built S.S. Tipton," Moseby said, very happy with himself.

"Good for you," I said, forgetting for a moment about the events of the previous night, "but then who'll manage the

hotel?"

"Well, that's why I've called you in here. I've recommended you for the job," he replied, causing my heart to jump, "You just need to take a paid course on hotel management and the job will be yours."

"Wow," I said, in complete shock, "I can't believe it."

Mr. Moseby was smiling, "Of Course, normally, someone of your young age wouldn't be a contender, but once I explained your academic achievements, your hard work managing the candy counter, and your hand in helping London with her boutique to Mr. Tipton, he was sold."

"Oh my God," I said, still astonished about what I was being told, "thank you."

"No, thank you," Mr. Moseby said, "you've always worked very hard for me and you've been a very good friend. This is my way of paying you back. This is your opportunity for financial security for you and your family. It was the least I could do." As I got up to give him a hug, I could feel a tear coming down my face. I was so happy and at the same time, I couldn't believe what just happened. My heart was racing so hard I began to feel an asthma attack coming. "Are you, ok?" Mr. Moseby asked noticing that I was getting short of breath.

"I'll be ok. I just need to run and get my inhaler," I replied. That's when it hit me. I left my inhaler in the bag I kept my change of clothes in last night. I left the bag in the Martin's Suite. Now I had to go up to that room and possibly run into Zack. As I made my way to the elevator, I prayed that Zack either wasn't there or was still asleep. That when something else hit. If Mr. Moseby finds out what I did to Zack, he'll fire me. All of the sudden my excitement turned to pain and guilt, for that thought made me realize that the opportunity Moseby just gave me could be taken away just as quickly.

Overwhelmed with emotions and getting shorter and shorter of breath, I went into the elevator and pressed the button for the 23rd floor. The thoughts of last night and the meeting with Moseby both weighing on my mind. Above all, though, is the hope that Zack isn't in his suite. He's the last person I need to see right now.

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_**(Note From Cetrix)**_

_**Here's chapter 7, I felt it important to have Maddie see how much her future may have been ruined by her moment of weakness and also set up a possible confrontation between her and Zack. I was hesitant to set up a continuity between this story and the Suite Life on Deck because it makes the Episode 'Maddie on Deck' impossible to happen. But I decided what the hell.**_


	8. Zack STOP!

_**(Note from Hurricane: The next three chapters were written by Cetrix with some revisions and minor changes by myself. They will each show a different POV of the same basic events similar to the first three chapters of this story. Please read and review and let me as well as Cetrix know what you think.)**_

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**Chapter 8: "Zack... STOP!"**

**Cody's POV-**

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On my way back to the suite with the security disk, I had the overwhelming urge to pee. I stopped the elevator at the Lobby to use the public restroom, but when I got to it, the urinal was out of order and there was a man sitting on the toilet in the next stall. I decided to use the restroom in the ballroom without realizing that mom was presently practicing for her show. As I came out, she had spotted me was already off the stage on her way to talk to me.

"Hey, honey," She said.

"Hey, mom," I replied, trying to hurry. I needed to get the disk up to Zack quickly.

"If you come to hear me practice, you're too late," She said.

"No, I just had to use the bathroom," I said, "I REALLY had to pee."

"Oh," Mom said sort of upset. Zack and I rarely listen to her practice anymore. "Well wait up. We just finished. Let me tell Joe I'm leaving and I'll walk you back to our room."

"I really need to hurry," I said. She wasn't listening. I didn't want her to come with me as I wanted to give Zack the disk without her knowing. She began to signal the band to put the equipment away as I sneaked away to try to get to the suite first. I went through the lobby and into the elevator. As I turned around I could see her coming.

"Cody wait!" She called from across the room. I pretended I didn't hear her and pressed the close button quickly to prevent her from getting in. As the elevator went up, I knew that I would only have a brief window to talk to Zack about the disk and how we should handle the situation. When I reached my floor, I proceeded to the suite. When I reached the door, however, I heard what appeared to be arguing. I recognized the voices as Zack and Maddie. I then heard what sounded like someone hitting the floor. I ran into the room, fearing the worst and saw Maddie on the floor with Zack on top of her. The argument had turned into a very physical fight.

Before I had time to react, mom came in behind me. She saw the fight and immediately ran over to separate the two.

"Cody are you just going to stand there?" she yelled at me.

"Zack…STOP!," I yelled as I realized that I had been standing there practically frozen at the sight of what was happening.

"STOP IT!" Mom yelled as she was pulling Zack off of Maddie, "What has gotten into you, Zack?"

Zack didn't answer as he struggled to get out of mom's grasp. I then noticed that Maddie wasn't moving and her breathing seemed to be getting shallower.

"Mom, Maddie," I said taking Zack away from her. He had stopped struggling, but I was holding on to him anyway just in case. Mom turned her attention to Maddie.

"MADDIE! MADDIE!" Mom was frantic.

What I saw next nearly caused my heart to stop.

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_**(Note From Cetrix: This is part one of three interweaving chapters. More is to come.)**_


	9. I began losing breath

_**(Note from Hurricane: As stated in the previous chapter, this and the next chapter were written by Cetrix. Please read and review to let us know what you think.)**_

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**Chapter 9: I began losing breath... **

**Maddie's POV-**

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My asthma was getting worse as the elevator reached the 23rd floor. I went as quickly as I could in my condition to the Martin's suite, used the key Carrie gave me, and entered the room. To my relief, there was no sign of anyone else in the suite. I went to my bag and grabbed my inhaler and used it to put an end to my asthma attack. It took a moment for me to catch my breath, but it was a huge relief when I finally did. For a moment, I didn't think that I was going to make it.

As I was calming down and putting everything back into my bag, I heard a toilet flush. I tried to hurry, but it was too late. The door behind me opened and I turned around to see Zack coming out of the bathroom. _"Great," _I thought to myself, _"Just what I needed."_

"What are you doing here," Zack asked, clearly not happy to see me.

"I was having an asthma attack," I explained, "I came here to get my inhaler." He moved around to the other side of the couch and into the living room.

"Oh," he said, "I see." I could sense the bitterness in his voice. I couldn't tell if he was angry or hurt with me. I decided I had no choice. I needed to go ahead and talk to him and clear the air. Make sure he understood what happened. That is... if I could get myself to understand it.

"Look Zack, I understand that you're angry and confused..." I started to try to explain things to him as I moved around to get closer to him, but he cut me off mid-sentence.

"Oh no," he said sarcastically, "Why would I be angry or confused? I mean, you practically FORCED me to have sex with you the ONE time in my life that I decide that it wouldn't be right, and then you just took off as if it was no big deal." His voice was begining to get loud as he moved closer to me.

"I shouldn't have done that," I said with my heart racing. I was trying to remain calm so that maybe he would calm down as well.

"Shouldn't have done what," Zack asked, "run off?" He was now standing right in front of me.

"No," words began leaving my mouth before my mind could process what I was saying, "none of it should have happened?"

"It was a mistake right?" Zack asked as both of our eyes began to water. Mine with regret, his with anger. "But, if you didn't love me..."

"It wasn't about love," I interrupted him, instantly regretting it.

"What," Zack said, seemingly hurt, rather than angry, by what I'd just said, "What does that mean?"

"Zack, just let me explain," I said.

"No," Zack yelled cutting me off, "I think I understand, it was just about you right. Ever since I've known you I've loved you. I've thrown myself at you only to be shot down time after time after time. You are all I've ever dreamed of and last night meant everything to me. I thought my dream was coming true. I thought that you FINALLY loved me back. Then you ran away from me. You've never cared about me. I'm just some little kid to you. You only did what you did to make yourself look better for your friends. I mean, you probably would have done it with Arwin if he was there instead of me."

"Stop," I pleaded to him as our emotions were clearly going into a violent downward spiral, it was only a matter of time before one of us completely broke down.

"All that time I loved you," Zack said ignoring me, I have never seen Zack like this, he was going into full blown rage, "I never figured you'd turn out to be just another teenage slut."

That statement made me lose it. I slapped him hard across the face. He bent over rubbing his face. When he arose, his face was red with anger and tears were rolling down his face. He stared at me for a moment with hatred in his eyes, gritting his teeth. His breath getting harder and harder before finally... he exploded.

Zack came at me and speared me speared me through the coffee table that was behind me. I felt a sharp pain in my back that knocked my breath out as Zack began punching me.

"I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!" he yelled as I began to lose consciousness. Everything began to get blurry and the last thing I saw before blacking out was Carrie leaned over me screaming and Cody holding back his brother.

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_**(Note From Cetrix: Part 2 of the 3 interweaved chapters, stay tuned)**_


	10. What have I done

_**(Note from Hurricane: This chapter was written by Cetrix with some revisions and minor changes done by me. Read and review to let us know how you liked it.)**_

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**Chapter 10: What have I done...**

**Zack's POV-**

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I woke up to see that Cody was gone. I figured he must have gone get the video from Arwin's security camera. I got up, got dressed, and went to watch TV. I tried not to think about what had happened last night with Maddie, but it was hard. I searched the channels trying to find something to get my mind off it, but nothing seemed to work. The whole thing was confusing, I couldn't understand what prompted Maddie to do what she did or why she just took off afterward.

After finally settling on something to watch on tv, I decided to grab something to eat. I went into the kitchen only to find that there was nothing there to eat, but a few apples. Mom was due for another trip to Cheap Charlie's. I was too hungry to care that it was a fruit and I really didn't have a choice anyway so I took one of the apples. I got a knife to cut the core out went into the living room to watch my show. During the commercial break I got up to go use the bathroom and laid my knife down next to my slices of apple on the coffee table in front of the couch.

As I was using the bathroom I heard someone enter the suite and figured it must be Cody. I washed my hands and hurried into the living room, anxious to see if Cody had been successful in his mission. I was disappointed to see that it was Maddie who was in the room instead of my brother.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, not at all thrilled to see her.

"I was having an asthma attack," she explained as I moved past her into the living room, "I came here to get my inhaler."

"Oh," I said, "I see." I hoped that she would just leave and not say anything else. Instead, she decided she wanted to talk.

"Look Zack," she moved into the room closer to me as she started trying to explain herself, "I understand that you're angry and confused..."

"Oh no," I interrupted trying to make it clear that I didn't want to talk to her right now, "Why would I be angry or confused? I mean, you practically FORCED me to have sex with you the ONE time in my life that I decide that it wouldn't be right, and then you just took off as if it was no big deal." As the words came out, I found myself getting angry.

"I shouldn't have done that," she said. This caught me off guard and I didn't really understand what she meant by it.

"What," I asked, trying to make sense of what she was saying, "run off?" I was trying to make my way back to the couch and my apple, but Maddie was now standing between me and my destination.

"No," she answered, "none of it should have happened?" I began to get angry again, but sad at the same time as I realized the meaning behind those words.

"It was a mistake right," I said, "but, if you didn't love me..."

"It wasn't about love," she said interrupting me. Those words hurt most of all as the confirmed that she didn't care about me like I had thought she did. She didn't love me the way I loved her and that she had used me.

"What... What does that mean?" I tried not to let it show, but I was beginning to tear up from a mixture of anger and sadness directed toward Maddie.

"Zack, just let me explain."

"No!" I yelled cutting her off, "I think I understand, it was just about you right. Ever since I've known you I've loved you. I've thrown myself at you only to be shot down time after time after time. You are all I've ever dreamed of and last night meant everything to me." As I was speaking, my fingers started to tingle and I started shaking. "I thought my dream was coming true. I thought that you FINALLY loved me back. Then you ran away from me. You've never cared about me." I started to get a headache and I felt my chest starting to get tight as I began breathing harder and harder. "I'm just some little kid to you. You only did what you did to make yourself look better for your friends. I mean, you probably would have done it with Arwin if he was there instead of me."

"Stop," she said, but I didn't listen.

"All that time I loved you," I said without thinking, "I never figured you'd turn out to be just another teenage slut."

At that moment she slapped me so hard I nearly fell. I lost control.

The next thing I remember was Cody holding me back as I faded back into awareness and hearing my mother screaming Maddie's name. I felt a great deal of relief as my breathing slowed and I came back down to Earth.

I looked down to see Maddie laying in the floor on top the coffee table which had been broken into pieces. My mom raised her up. That's when I saw it. The knife I had been using to slice my apple was sticking out of Maddie's back. Mom yelled at Cody to call 911. When he let go of me, I dropped to my knees. I ran both of my hands through my hair as I tried to figure out what was going on. There was only one thing going through my mind: _"What have I done?"_

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_**(Note From Cetrix: Here's part 3, I hope you are enjoying this story.)**_


	11. Diagnosis

**Chapter 11: Diagnosis**

**Cody's POV-**

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The last 24 hours have been very difficult to deal with. The incident between Zack and Maddie has somehow ended up with Maddie in the hospital after being stabbed in the back with a kitchen knife. The knife went into her kidney and she nearly bled to death before they got her into the emergency room. This has sent shock waves throughout the hotel as everyone draws their own conclusions about what happened. Conclusions based completely on rumors and false information. The only two people who know FOR SURE what happened are Zack and Maddie.

After Maddie was rushed to the hospital last night, the police came to question mom, Zack, and me. It was routine in a case like this, a stabbing, to question any witnesses to determine whether or not it was an accident. Mom and I told them what little we knew about what happened. They called us in one at a time to get our story of what we saw. Then, they talked to Zack who, to this point, hadn't spoken to anyone except me since the accident.

I felt bad for him, despite having seen what he had done, because I knew that he didn't stab Maddie. Somehow in the scuffle, she had fallen on the coffee table and was stabbed by accident by the knife that Zack had apparently been using to cut up an apple. I'm pretty sure the officers saw it that way as well, but there was also the matter of Zack pinning Maddie to the ground and punching her. I couldn't deny that he had hit her and I felt terrible having to tell that to the police, but Zack swore to me that he had blacked out. He told me about everything that had happened up to that point. About how they had gotten into an arguement about what happened in the basement the other night, how he started yelling at her, and the things he said to her. When he got to the last part, he said she slapped him in the face and then the whole world went into slow motion and his voice was like an echo as he screamed at Maddie that he hated her. He said he could see what was happening, but had no control over it. He said it looked and felt like a dream and he didn't "wake up" until I grabbed him away from mom and was trying to control him.

Zack told the police the same story he told me except he told them they were arguing about some money that she owed him. He didn't want to tell them about their having sex the night before and it was the only thing he could think of on the spot. They decided that, before they could go any further, they would need to interview Maddie and see if she wanted to press charges. Right now, she was so heavily sedated at the hospital that everything would have to wait. That was the worst part. Having to wait while everyone made up their own minds about what a degenerate, horrible, rotten, devil child my brother was for attacking and stabbing poor innocent Maddie. In the meantime, the police recommended a psychiatric evaluation based on Zack's claim that he had lost control and "blacked out" after he was slapped. They acted like they didn't believe what he was saying, which made me feel worse for him, but said a psychologist would be able to determine if what he was saying was likely to be true and what might have caused it.

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This morning mom, Zack, and I went to the recommended psychology clinic. I figured they were going to talk to Zack and that would be it, but instead, the wanted to interview all three of us. They asked me questions about Zack's behavior and his past. Specifically if agressive behavior was normal for him. I told the doctor, Dr. Williams, that Zack was usually very laid back, calm and cool and, even when he was made, usually remained calm. Dr. Williams then asked me if Zack had ever had any other outbursts of violence or agressive behavior and to tell them about anything I could think of, no matter how trivial it may have seemed. There were only a few times I could think of where Zack seemed to overreact to something and lost his temper, mostly things like the time he broke the front of the vending machine at school. Zack put his money in and the chips he wanted got stuck against the glass and didn't come out. He only had one more dollar and didn't have anything else to eat. He put his last dollar in the machine and pressed the buttons again. The second bag of chips got pressed up against the first bag and they were BOTH stuck up against the glass. At first Zack was calm, albeit a bit frustrated. He tried shaking the machine a little, but nothing was working. He kept trying and trying, getting more and more frustrated until finally, he snapped. He kicked the front of the machine so hard, the plexiglass window broke and his chips finally fell down where he could get them. While telling that story to the doctor, I remembered Zack saying at the time that he didn't mean to kick the machine and that he didn't know what had come over him. The teachers didn't buy it, and to be honest, I didn't either. Zack got a week of detention for breaking the machine.

Another time I remembered happened at home while Zack and I were playing a video game. The Xbox 360 that we had at the time would freeze up every now and then, but it didn't happen very often. Once, we were playing Halo 3 and after playing for several hours, we were on the final stage of the game playing on the hardest difficulty setting. We were really into it and excited about beating it when the game froze. It was fine at first because we had saved it right before the last stage so we just restarted the game. When we reached the same point in the game again, it froze again. We restarted it again, but this time, the front of the console lit up with a red ring instead of the green one that it usually has. We tried restarting it a few more times, but got the red ring every time. Zack, in his frustration yelled "Piece of shit!" and stomped on top of the game system and caving in the top of it.

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The doctor took notes on my stories and then asked me if Zack had ever shown an outburst like this toward another person before last night. I told him of the one time that I was aware of where Zack had attacked another person. It happened last year at school. Drew Gambol and his gang, the "Drew Crew" as they are known, were hanging out in front of the school as everyone was leaving to go home at the end of the day. When Zack and I passed them, Drew started yelling at us and calling us names while his friends laughed. When he realized that we were ignoring him, he tried to turn it up a notch by insulting us individually. I guess he figured I was an easier target so he picked me to insult first and began calling me names like "nerd," "dork," "geek," and whatever other words he could think of to put me down. When he called me a "faggot," Zack couldn't listen anymore. He turned around and yelled at Drew and his friends, who had started following us down the sidewalk, to shut up. Drew asked Zack what he was going to do about it, but Zack's only reply was "Leave him alone." Drew stepped up into Zack's face and said, "What are you going to do about it, go home and cry to your mommy?" Zack said nothing as Drew's friends laughed. I tried to get Zack to leave, but he just stood there staring at Drew. "What are you staring at, are you a little fag, too?" Drew taunted Zack. "Hey crew, the clones are going to go home and blow each other!" Zack still said nothing, but I was finally able to convince him to leave. As we turned to walk away, Drew grabbed the collar of Zack's shirt and spun him around. One of Drew's friends shoved me hard to the sidewalk and the rest of them circled Zack. "Don't you walk away from me you little bitch!" Drew said. When Zack didn't say anything Drew pushed him to the ground and one of his friends kicked Zack in the ribs. "Look crew, the little fag bitch is going to..." Drew started to insult Zack again, but was suddenly cut off when Zack grabbed his math book and hit him in the face so hard with it that it broke his jaw. Drew fell on the ground and, while his friends were tending to him, I grabbed Zack and we ran away. Zack didn't get into any trouble for breaking Drew's jaw since the whole event was caught on the school's cameras and it was determined that Zack acted in self defense. Zack later told me that when he hit Drew, it was like everything was moving in slow motion and he couldn't control what was happening.

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When I finished my Drew story, Dr. Williams thanked me and told me I could leave. He talked to mom last, which lasted about as long as my interview did. After interviewing us, the doctor said we could go, and that he would call mom later with the results and to schedule a follow up appointment if necessary.

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Mom got the call a few hours ago. The doctor asked her to come back to his office so he could give her the results of his findings. When she got back home, she had some paperwork and pamphlets with information about Intermittent Explosive Disorder, or IED. Mom explained that the doctor reviewed Zack's history based on the interviews held with each of us and determined that Zack has this disorder.

According to the pamphlet, intermittent explosive disorder is a behavioral disorder characterized by extreme expressions of anger, often to the point of uncontrollable rage, that are disproportionate to the situation at hand. Impulsive aggression is unpremeditated, and is defined by a disproportionate reaction to any provocation, real or perceived. Explosive eruptions, usually lasting 10 to 20 minutes, often result in injuries and the deliberate destruction of property. These episodes may occur in clusters or be separated by weeks or months of nonaggression. In order for the doctor to reach the diagnosis, there had to be examples of multiple incidents in which Zack failed to resist aggressive impulses that resulted in deliberate destruction of property or assault of another person, the degree of aggressiveness expressed during the incidents had to be completely out of proportion with the precipitating event, and the aggressive episodes couldn't be accounted for by another mental disorder and could not be due to the effects of a drug or a general medical condition. It is also explained that the outbursts can be preceded by tingling, tremors, palpitations, chest tightness, head pressure, and hearing an echo, all of which Zack told me he experienced right before he zoned out. It also says in the pamphlet that most people who have IED outbursts report an alteration in their awareness during the episode which would explain Zack's description of the event "being like a dream."

Mom said the doctor told her there were a few different options for treatment and they set up a follow up appointment to decide what to do. I've tried talking to Zack, but he wants to be left alone right now. I can tell he's in a lot of emotional pain right now with all of the chaos going on in the last two days. He promised to talk to me later so I've decided to give him his space.

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_**(Author's Note: This chapter was written by me. Sorry it took so long, but I didn't want to put it out until I thought it was good enough. I am my own worst critic and I won't put something out until it's as close to perfect as I can get it. For more information on IED (which I myself have), look it up on Wikipedia or Google it. Anyway, read and review. Thanks!)**_


	12. Revelation

_**(Note from Hurricane: This chapter was written by Cetrix with some revisions done by me. Please read and review.)**_

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**Chapter 12: Revelation**

**Carrie's Point of View-**

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"Now listen," Mr. Moseby said to the employees, "you all know about the incident between Zack and Maddie." Mr. Moseby was holding a staff meeting. I had just told him about Zack's diagnosis of IED, and he was informing the staff of the situation.

"You mean how Zack beat her down and stabbed her in the back," a maid stated in a crude tone. She has clearly determined her opinion of the incident based solely on rumors that she'd heard. I found it appalling that people were so quick to draw conclusions on things that haven't even heard details about.

"Look," Mr. Moseby said, "I have just been informed that Zack has a condition that made him unable to control his actions. He and Maddie were arguing and he quite literally lost control of himself. Now I think we all know about the feelings Zack has for Maddie and if any of you truly believe that he would actually do something like this to her under any circumstances, well then I don't know what to think of you. Further details of the incident and Zack's condition are going to remain confidential, but I can assure all of you that this was nothing more than a terrible accident." All the employees nodded in agreement of Moseby's logic. I was glad that he choose not to give details about Zack's condition. "You are all dismissed. Go back to work."

"Thank you for doing this," I said to Moseby after everyone else had cleared the room.

"No problem," Mr. Moseby responded, "it would be crazy to assume that Zack would actually try to hurt Maddie, but what exactly sent him over the edge?"

"I don't know," I answered not buying Zack's story about it being about money, "I'm trying to find out."

"Well," he said as the got up to leave the room, "I hope you figure it out. Have you been able to reach Maddie's parents?"

"No," I answered, "I think their phones are disconnected. I plan to stop by their apartment on my way to the hospital to visit Maddie."

Moseby nodded, "I'm sure their worried about her, they haven't heard from her in a couple of days."

"They were out of town visiting a sick relative over the weekend," I explained, "They should have arrived home today and they probably think that she's here working." Moseby nodded in agreement and wished me luck in getting the truth out of Zack as we went our separate ways. I went through the lobby and into the elevator, Moseby went to yell at Esteban.

* * *

I couldn't understand what could have happened between Zack and Maddie to drive him over the edge the way it did. I reached the 23rd floor and to our suite. When I went inside, Zack and Cody were sitting on the couch watching TV. I went over to the TV and turned it off.

"MOM!" they both complained in unison.

"Are either of you going to tell me what happened with Maddie?" I got right to business.

"I already did," Zack said referring to his story about the money.

"Uh huh, so Maddie owed you money and you just decided to beat her up over it?" I asked.

"Yes," Zack replied.

"And how much money did she owe you?" I continued.

"Uh, it was twenty dollars," he stammered to think of a number.

"You beat up Maddie, the girl you've claimed to be in love with since me moved here over a measly twenty dollars?" I was trying to break him, "If that's the case, I should probably beat the crap out of you because you owe me WAY more than twenty dollars."

"No, not just twenty dollars... I just..." he was starting to crack.

"If it wasn't about the money then what was it?" I asked, digging a little deeper. Zack just sat in silence looking at the floor. "Zack," I said knowing it was time to make my move and finally get him to tell the truth, "You expect me to believe you went out of control on Maddie, Maddie of all people, over a measly twenty dollars?"

"Zack," Cody spoke softly and for the first time, "it's over. She knows you're lying. Just tell her. She's going to find out anyway." Zack stared at the floor a few more moments before speaking.

"I guess it wasn't a good story," he said, giving in.

"Alright," I was glad we were finally getting somewhere, "So what was the whole thing about?" Zack clearly struggling and on the brink of tears. What ever happened between him and Maddie was hard for him to even think about and despite no longer having a cover story to tell, he still seemed reluctant to tell the truth. Finally I said, "Zack."

"Mom..." Cody started but I did not allow him to finish.

"Cody, go to your room," I said wishing to speak to Zack alone, "Now."

"Yes, ma'am," Cody said dejected. He stood up and went into the bedroom. I remained standing while Zack sat on the couch refusing to even look me in the eyes. He knew he couldn't hide the truth forever so he was trying to keep himself from the conversation.

"Zack," I started trying to convince him to trust me, "I can see that you and Maddie had some sort of falling out, and that you apparently don't want to talk about it, but I can't help if you don't talk to me." He remained silent. "Zack, please talk to me. What was the fight about?" Zack took a deep breath and let out a long sigh.

"Fine," he said finally breaking his silence. I sat down on the couch next to him and waited for him to start. "I can't," Zack started, trying to keep himself from crying, "I don't want to say."

"I understand that," I saw how hurt he was, "But I can't just leave this alone, not when I know it's causing you pain. Please tell me." Tears began going down Zack's face as he was obviously no longer able to hold them back.

"I... I didn't mean to hurt her, but... I... I just couldn't stop. I was just so... mad about... what she did..." He said between sobs.

"What," I asked, "What did she do?"

"She," Zack made one last attempt to hold it in before breaking, "She had sex with me."

"What?," I asked unable to absorb those words. They just made no sense to me.

"I tried to stop her, but... she wouldn't. I knew it wasn't right... but she made me have sex with her," He said again before breaking down into tears, "It was all I had ever wanted, but when it started I knew we shouldn't, but she kept going. I thought she finally loved me, but she doesn't."

My heart began to sink as I finally began to understand what he was saying, a swarm of emotions began flooding my mind, "Cody, get back in here."

Cody came back into the room slowly, staring at the floor. He had obviously been listening in from the other room. "Yes?" he asked sofly.

"Please," I said wishing it wasn't true, "PLEASE tell me he's lying to cover up the truth." Cody didn't answer he just went to his backpack and took out a disk and handed it to me.

"This is the security disk from Arwin's office," he explained, "it all happened in plain view of the camera."

Now I wished I didn't know the truth. My eyes began to water with both anger and sadness as leaned over toward Zack, "Oh my God, honey." I hugged him as he was still crying, tears began going down my face, "It's okay."

"It's just," Zack started, "I thought she loved me back…but…she doesn't. Yesterday, she told me it wasn't about love and that she didn't love me. I called her a slut even though I didn't really mean it and she slapped me. That's when I lost it. I just... I didn't mean to…"

"I understand," I said trying to calm him, "I understand now." I hugged him for a bit longer before getting up and got my coat. I had to go to the hospital and try and get Maddie's side of things.

"Where are you going," Zack asked still in tears.

"The hospital," I answered heading for the door.

"Mom," Zack started obviously not wishing me to confront Maddie.

"I don't want to hear it Zack," I reached the door; I knew that he didn't want this to escalate any more but I had to speak with Maddie, "I need to hear her explanation for this." I left the Suite and went to the elevator. I pressed the button to go down to the lobby, and as the elevator went down, my pain was overwhelmed by anger. How could Maddie do this to Zack? She's nineteen and he's sixteen. It just didn't any sense to me that Maddie would do this under any circumstance, but Zack was telling the truth that much I was certain of. Anger continued to fill my heart, Maddie had become a daughter to me over the years, and now I feel ashamed to know her. I exited the elevator and left the hotel. I hailed a Cab and told the driver to take me to the hospital.

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_**(Note from Cetrix: I thought it would be interesting to see things from a different point of view than what we have so far in the story, I figured this was the right time to tell things from Carrie's point of View. Please Review)**_


	13. I'm Sorry

**Chapter 13: I'm Sorry**

**Maddie's POV-**

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I woke up in the hospital hooked up to several machines and an IV. I also felt pain in my back and head. The nurses quickly realized that I was awake and began to monitor my vitals.

A doctor soon came in and began checking my vitals. He took a small flashlight and looked at my pupils, "Do you know you're name?"

"Maddie Fitzpatrick," I said going along with the whole procedure.

"Ok," He put the flashlight away, "No sign of head trauma, that's good. We were afraid that you would have memory loss. Do you know what happened?"

"I was in a argument," I said remembering it clearly, "And it didn't end well."

"No it didn't," The doctor agreed, "You fell on a knife, which punctured your kidney, and your head landed on the floor pretty hard, giving you a minor concussion." The doctor informed me that they weren't able to reach my parents, which didn't surprise me, our phones were disconnected. After the doctor went through everything, he left me to relax.

* * *

About an hour later, I was just waking up from a nap when Carrie came in, "Hello Maddie, how are you feeling?"

"Fine," I answered a bit concerned by Carrie's tone, it seems she was restraining herself from screaming. My heart began to race as I realized that she might know everything.

She took out a disk from her purse, "You know what this is?"

"No," I didn't know what the disk was or what it had to do with anything.

"It's the security footage from Arwin's office," She put the disk down on the table at the end of the bed, "I didn't watch it, but by knowing what is, you can probably guess why I'm here."

My heart rate exploded after that, it was clear to me know that she indeed knew everything. I didn't know that Arwin had cameras in his office. "I figured I would hear your side of the story before I decide what to do," She said staring at me with the kind of glare she usually gave to Zack and Cody after they did something wrong, "So first things first. Did you have sex with my son?"

I sat there frozen for a moment before finally forced myself to answer, "Yes."

Carrie stared at me still restraining herself from losing it. I honestly don't know how she had the ability to hold in her anger, but she did. "I honestly don't understand this," Carrie said with her arms folded, "Just deciding to have sex with my son doesn't fit your personality, so I believe that there is some sort of explanation. You mind giving it to me?"

"It's just," I began struggling to organize my thoughts correctly, "I was out on a date, and he tried to make a move on me, I was just so shaken…I don't know…I was just so tired of it, it seemed that all I can attract are jerks and…it seemed that no man would ever want to be with me because I wouldn't 'put out' as the phrase has it…then Zack came in and…I don't know…I just…"

"Decided to have sex with him," Carrie interrupted not happy with my explanation, "You wanted to prove to yourself that you can do it, you used him as a worthless sex toy and then just tossed him aside."

I sat there for a moment. I wanted to deny it and say it was a 'Moment of Weakness', that I didn't mean to do it and I couldn't control my actions, but I couldn't. There is only so long you can lie to yourself, the truth is that I knew what I was doing and, though I'm no proud of it, I used Zack as nothing more than an item. "Yes," I finally said coming clean to Carrie as well as myself, "yes, and I'm sorry."

I began crying out shame for what I did as Carrie picked up the disk, "I'm sorry Maddie, but sorry isn't good enough."

She began to walk to the door when I said, "Carrie, please hear me out."

She stopped at the door and turned to me, "Were you Drunk?"

"No," I answered.

"Were you high," She asked.

"No," I said again.

"Then no," Carrie opened the door, "I won't here you out."

"Carrie," I screamed as she walked out the door, I really began to breakdown at that point as I knew this was only the beginning.

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**(Hurricane's Note: This chapter was written by Cetrix with only very minor changes made by me. Please read and review.)**


	14. Let It Go

**Chapter 14: Let It Go**

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**Cody's POV-**

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Zack and I were watching television when mom came bursting through the door, back from the hospital. I knew right away that things didn't go well.

"Mom, what happened?" Zack asked as mom practically slammed her purse down on the table.

"Nothing," she said, obviously lying, "Everything's fine."

"You don't LOOK like everything's fine," Zack said.

"Just don't worry about it anymore, Zack, I'm going to take care of everything," she said.

"How?"

"Zack," I said, trying to cut him off. I knew that this line of conversation probably wouldn't end well.

"How are you going to take care of it?" he insisted.

"If you MUST know, I'm going to the police department tomorrow to press charges," Mom said, "Maddie has to suffer the consequences for what she's done to you."

"Suffer the... Mom, don't you think she's suffered enough?" Zack asked.

"What are you talking about, Zack" she asked "Have you forgotten what she did to you? She raped you! Not to mention all of the emotional torment you've suffered since then."

"Have you forgotten what I did to HER?" he fired back. "I stabbed her! Did you forget about that?"

"No I didn't, but... I just..." Mom obviously didn't have a comeback for that and I had to admit there was no arguing his logic. "What are you trying to say, son?"

"I'm saying... leave her alone. Pressing charges against Maddie will only make this whole thing drag on longer and I think we've all had enough. Just let it go."

"Honey, I can't just let it go," mom said.

"Yes you can," he insisted.

"Zack, honey, look..." mom started.

"Mom... please... I still love her. She's suffered enough. Please... just let it go. For me." Zack pleaded. Mom stood silent for a few minutes trying to think of what to say. I could tell that he had gotten to her.

"Zack, honey... you understand that... Maddie doesn't love you back. Right?" mom said finally.

"I know..." my brother said. I could tell those words hurt him as he turned his gaze from mom to the floor. I wondered what was going through his mind at that moment and wished there was something I could do to ease the emotional torment he must have been going through.

"If this is what you really want..." mom said before pausing and taking a deep breath.

"I do."

Mom sighed, "Then... I guess... I'll try to let it go. For you."

"Thanks," Zack tried to smile, but I could tell he was on the verge of tears.

"There are going to be some conditions to this though. First of all, you two are to stay away from her. When Maddie is working you are to stay away from the candy counter. If you feel that you MUST have candy, you will get someone else to buy it for you. Got that?"

"Yes, ma'am," I said. Zack just nodded silently.

"I mean it, boys. No contact until further notice," mom said as she began to head toward the bathroom. "Now, we'll talk more about this later. Right now, I have to get ready for my show." She leaned over the back of the couch behind us and hugged us, kissing us both on the head. "I love you, both."

"Love you, too," we said in unison.

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"Zack... you okay?" I asked after mom left.

"Yeah... I'll be okay. I just wish..." he began to sob.

"What?" I pulled him close to me and held him tight for comfort.

"I just wish there was a way to make Maddie love me back," he said as the tears started trickling down his cheeks.

"I know... I'm sorry..." I said, rubbing his back. He looked up and smiled at me through the tears.

"Thanks, little brother," he said, wiping his face. "Let's go do something. I need a distraction."

"Ultimate Alliance?" I suggested.

"Let's go," he said. "I call Deadpool."

"You always do," I teased.

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**(Author's Note: Back by popular demand! I want to thank everyone who voted and helped this story win "Best Emotional Breakdown" in the 2009 Suite Life Awards. It's because of you that this story has been dusted off and brought back. The award winning chapter is chapter 10 so if you haven't read it yet, GO! Hope you all enjoy this! Please read and review. It's VERY important to the author's on this site that you submit your feedback so we know what you do and don't like. Thanks again!)**


	15. Tough Times

**Chapter 15: Tough Times**

**Maddie's POV-**

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It's been three weeks since I checked out of the hospital, but I'm back in the office for some tests to make sure everything is healing properly. The doctors were able to repair the damage to my kidney. Luckly Zack had been using a paring knife to cut his apple and not a Bowie knife.

The last three weeks have been terrible. After the incident with Zack, all talk of a promotion stopped as though it had never happened. Everywhere I go in the hotel, I can feel people staring at me. Mr. Moseby left the hotel to take over as cruise director on the SS Tipton. The new manager is a jerk and has been cutting my hours more and more each week since I returned to work. After my parents found out that I was no longer "pure," they kicked me out. Part of living in a very religious family, I guess. London has been gracious enough to let me stay with her in her suite at the Tipton until I can get on my feet. Problem is, her father is sending her to live on the SS Tipton, to attend school for a semester. That gives me less than a week to find a new place to live.

I haven't spoken to Zack or Cody since the incident. Mr. Moseby, relayed the message to me before he left that Carey had agreed not to press charges as long as I had no contact with the twins. I understand her position, I just wish I could be given the opportunity to have a talk with Zack. I can't take back what happened, but I feel like I owe it to him to at least talk about it with him and let him know how sorry I am. I don't have much time though. London says Zack and Cody are also going on the ship. I hope I can talk to them at least one last time before they go. Zack and Cody have been like little brothers to me for the last several years. I love them more than I love certain members of my own family. It's been very hard to deal with seeing them walk through the lobby everyday and not being able to say anything. Zack usually acts like I'm not even there, walking with his head down, going out of his way not to see me. Sometimes I catch Cody looking my way. He tries to play it off if he knows I see him. He usually has a sad look on his face.

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The doctor comes back with my test results.

"Everything is healing up just fine," he says. "No infection and the stitches are disolving nicely." Hearing the results of my checkups has been the only good news I've gotten each week. "Your blood work is fine too, everthing is normal." Except I know that it's not. This isn't 'normal.' I was 'normal' a month ago. Now I'm... Ugh.. I try to dismiss it. Maybe if I don't think about it, it will go away like it never happened.

"_Yeah right_," I think to myself. "_This is something I'll be living for the rest of my life_."


	16. Confrontation

**Chapter 16: Confrontation**

**Cody's POV:**

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"Zack, where did you put my protractor?" I asked. I was trying to get everything neatly organized since we were getting ready to leave. I couldn't believe we were actually leaving for Seven Seas High tomorrow! Mom told us to make sure our room was perfectly clean before we left. It only took about half an hour for me to clean everything on my part of the room, but even after two hours, it didn't look like Zack had made much progress.

"Your what?" he asked while climbing out from a mountain of clothes.

"The plastic semi circle thing that I use to measure angels with."

"Oh, it was supposed to be that shape. Sorry, I thought it was broken so I threw it in the trash." And yet, he never remembers to throw away his own trash. "It should be near the top if you want to go get it."

"No thanks, I'd rather not stick my hand in something that contains a two year old slice of pizza."

"It still didn't taste too bad though."

"You ATE it?" That was bad even for Zack. I spotted at least 17 different types of fungus on it when he pulled it out from under his bed.

"Only a bite. I wanted to see what it tasted like."

"Do I want to know?"

"Not as bad as some of Mom's cooking," he said. I couldn't help letting out a chuckle, especially since it was probably true. I then went back to packing, after I finished that I figured I could help Zack with the toxic waste dump he called his half of the room. Before I could do that though, a pounding sound came from the living room, probably someone knocking at the door. "Could you get that, I'm kind of busy." I turned and saw what appeared to be Zack trying to wrestle the mountain of clothes and losing, so I nodded and went to the door.

When I opened it though, I instantly regretted it.

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"Hey Cody," she said innocently.

"What are you doing here?" I asked coldly. After what she did, she had no right to even be in the same building as my brother.

"I want to talk to Zack."

"He's busy."

"Can you at least tell him I'm here?" she asked.

"No."

"Please, Cody. I just want to make sure everything is okay between us."

I stepped forward into the hallway and closed the door behind me, leaving the two of us far enough away from Zack where I hoped he wouldn't hear what I had to say to her.

"Maddie, how could things ever be okay between the two of you after that night?" I stated, remaining calm so far.

"I know, it was a mistake," she tried to explain.

"No," I said sternly, "That wasn't a mistake. A mistake is Zack forgetting to do his homework. A mistake is me falling off my skateboard. A mistake is you showing up late for work. What you did to Zack is something much worse." I had started to yell by the end of that, and I could tell Maddie was hurt. Good, she deserved to be hurt after what she did. In fact, I can't hurt her enough after what she did.

Now she has the audacity to just come up here and want to apologize? She thinks a simple apology erase what she did? She thinks a simple apology can make Zack regain his innocence? She thinks a simple apology will change the fact that she took advantage of him!

"You're right, what I did is a terrible thing." At least she admitted it. "I really care about Zack though; I just want to talk to him. He was one of my best friends."

"Really, I would have never guessed. Maybe it's just me, but I don't go around randomly screwing my best friends. Y'know Maddie, I used to look up to you," I said leaning against the wall, "I always admired how kind you always were to us. You picked us up from school when we needed it, you helped us with homework, and you were there whenever we needed someone to talk to. I thought you'd be one of those people I could depend on no matter what. I guess it just shows how people never are how I thought they'd be."

"What Cody, you think it's easy always trying to fit in when they see me as a stuck up goody-goody who is never afraid to take risks?" She had started to scream too.

"You're right, it is hard, but don't come to me trying to say that excuses what you did. I can't count the times I've been made fun of for being a nerd. Does it hurt? Yes, but I knew what I was doing was right."

"It's just so hard though." She had calmed down some and I saw a couple tears running down her cheek.

"What, and you think it's easy comforting a brother who just was betrayed by the person he had a crush on for years? How do you think he feels? Don't try to play the pity card here. You knew the way he felt about you, but that didn't stop you. You toyed with his emotions like the latest fashion, ware it just long enough to get what you want out of it then toss it to the side." By now, I want nothing more than to never see this whore again. Words aren't enough to express how I feel.

"Cody," she said softly.

"Get the hell out of my sight!" I scream. She runs down the hall in tears. Hopefully I'll never have to see her again.

Our door opened behind me and I turned to see Zack behind me. "So you heard that?"

"Yeah."

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**(Author's Note: This chapter was written by Tiger002. He's going to be taking over the story from here. I only made a few changes to some of the wording, but he gets full credit for the story.)**


	17. Farewell

_**(Hurricane's Note: This chapter was written entirely by Tiger002)**_

**Chapter 17: Farewell**

**Zack's PoV**

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I stare at my brother for a second, not sure if I heard him right.

"Zack," he says softly, looking down, obviously not wanting to face me. I can see his mouth quivering, a mix of rage and sadness barely kept in control.

My eyes soon gaze upwards and I take a quick glance past him to see Maddie disappearing behind the elevator doors, the hurt clearly broadcasting across her face. Part of me wants to run after her, but the other part is glad to see her go. I mean, I loved her, and that night, it was everything I wanted, the greatest feeling in the world. And then, I was just tossed aside like one of London's outfits. After all those years, I thought I meant something to her, maybe not what I wanted to be, but there was at least something between us. Even after all this, I at least want to talk to her.

Seeing she's gone, I turn back to the door, opening it and am going to go back inside but I'm stopped by Cody's hand on my shoulder. "I didn't want you to have to hear that." His voice was a mix of regret at a small hint of rage.

"I know."

I turn to look Cody in the eye, his expression conveying way more than he can put into words. He knows that I still wanted to talk to her, one last time before we left, and yet, I know why he did what he did. If anyone ever hurt my little brother like that, I'd kill them.

After brushing my brother's hand off my shoulder, I go back into the suite and head back toward my bed. I start packing again, putting stuff in my suitcase, not really caring if stuff is going where it's supposed to. I can sort that out later or when I get on the ship. I just don't feel like doing that now.

"I just didn't want her to hurt you again," Cody says from the doorway.

"It's okay." I look up at him, not really wanting to talk about this now, but I can tell that my silence is hurting him. "I thought that maybe things could still work out between us," By this point, I had put down whatever clothes I was packing as was just staring at the ceiling.

"You really loved her, didn't you," Cody says as he takes a seat beside me.

"I still do." I can feel tears building in my eyes, at the thought of never seeing Maddie again. "I can't believe I'm so stupid."

"You aren't stupid," he quickly retorts.

"How am I not? I'm in love with the person who just used me like that." I get up and start walking across the room, feeling uncomfortably closed in by my bed.

"It takes time to get over feelings like that. I know it did for me."

Wait; who's he talking about? "Who?"

"Maddie. You weren't the only one to have a crush on her."

"Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"I knew I never stood a chance with someone three years older than me, and after I found out how you felt, I thought it was better just to keep it a secret. I guess being twins, we had the same thoughts about her. She's even been in my dreams more than I'd like to admit." A blush spreads across his face and his voice softened for the last sentence giving me a good indication of what those dreams entailed.

I look way from my brother, trying to process this information. I can't believe it, all these years of hitting on Maddie, trying to win her over, I would have never thought my brother felt the same way from a distance.

"It's over now though," he says.

He's right. We're about to go around the world on the SS Tipton. I can't just forget everything that happened, but this is the start of something new. "We better get back to packing,"

"What do you mean? I'm already done."

"I hate you." Stupid overly organized brother.

"Love you too."

He then goes over to open my suitcase and lifts out something that I think at one time was a chocolate bar. That or a bowl of ice cream. I'm not really sure which one, but now it looks like a Christmas tree complete with lights, ornaments, and tinsel. "I don't think you need this any more," he says looking like he's about to puke.

"You might be right." I contemplate taking a bite of it to see if I can figure out what it was, but he throws it away before I get the chance.

After liberally applying hand sanitizer, he then walks back to my suite case and starts folding and organizing what I've already put in there. "You don't have to help me."

"I know," he says with a smile.

"Thanks." Having him help me pack will definitely make things easier.

* * *

About an hour passes and I learn that there is carpet under my side of the room and that it is nice red color. Who knew? Most of my clothes are packed, organized by color and size, and somehow with Cody's magic folding powers, they all are able to fit in the suitcase. After deciding that all this cleaning is a bit much, I take a break and stare out the window of our room glancing down at the people below. A certain blond stands out to me, despite being so far away. She holds her hand against her stomach and walks down the street and out of my sights for the last time. "Farewell my love," I whisper.

Cody walks beside me and sees the same person fading into the crowd. "You okay?"

I start to just give him a 'yeah', but I can't honestly say I am. With everything that's happened, I'd say I'm far from okay…but that doesn't matter now. "I will be."

"Come on, you've only got a few more things to pack."

I can't believe how fast this has gone with Cody's help. "Thanks," I say, and then add, "For everything."

"That's what brothers are for."

I really do have a great brother, someone to play video games with, someone to help me clean, and someone who helped me through this whole Maddie incident.

It hardly takes any time at all for us to finish packing and cleaning everything. Our suitcases are filled to the brim with everything we'll need (and in Cody's case, probably a lot of things we won't). All that's left to pack is the play station.

"One last game of Ultimate Alliance?" he offers.

"I call Deadpool."

"You always do," he teases and we are once again engaged in the world of make believe.

* * *

**(Note from Hurricane: I want to thank Tiger and Cetrix for the work they did on this story. You guys deserve most of the credit for this one. Also, thanks to the readers who stuck with this one for the last nearly two years. Hope it was worth the wait.)**


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